This time is ours
by Ms Fanpire
Summary: Bella moves from Phoenix to Seattle to live with her besties Alice and Rosalie for a fresh start after her boyfriend cheats on her. BxE, RxEM & AxJ All human
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Here we go, this is my first ever attempt at Fan Fiction! I welcome any feedback or helpful advice you can give me as I am still really new to the whole world of Fan Fic, so please review! Also I am on the look out for a Beta so let me know if you are interested or how the process works.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters. I wish I did, but the very talented Stephanie Myer does =)**

**Songs for this chapter: The End - Linkin Park and Full Moon - The Black Ghosts.**

As I drove across the border from Arizona into California I felt a mixture of sadness, relief and excitement.

If I was completely honest with myself I was relieved to be leaving Phoenix to start a new life in Seattle given the events of the past few months.

Sure, I would miss my Renee and Phil, my best friends Chelsea and Tara and the heat of the desert in the place I've called home for the most part of my life.

But this was a good decision, a new chapter in my life. I hadn't allowed myself to relive the events of the day I found out my boyfriend and best friend had betrayed me, but as I sped down the highway my mind started to drift…..

_*__Flashback*_

"_C__an you believe it's the last day of lectures before exams! Second year has gone so fast" I exclaimed sitting down at a table in one of the many cafeterias on the University of Phoenix campus, next to two of my best friends, Chelsea and Tara._

"_Sure has" Tara agreed, she stole a quick glance at Chelsea._

"_What's up?" I asked immediately concerned._

"_Ummmm" Chelsea said biting her lip, "We have somethi__ng to tell you. It's probably just a rumour but we think you should know."_

"_What is it?" I asked curiously._

"_It's about Brad" Chelsea blurted out._

_I looked at them both feeling confused and a little worried, Brad was my boyfriend, we had been together for about a year and while I wasn't sure I would call h__im my soul mate, I did love him, or so I thought._

"_Spit it out" I __encouraged; they looked at each other then back to me._

"_Bells you know we love you so please don't __shoot the messenger, we had no idea at all that this was going on" Chelsea pleaded._

"_I won't be mad Chels, please tell me" I begged._

"_Brad's been cheating on you Bella" she whispered._

_I froz__e, "with who?" I demanded._

"_Sophie" Tara sneered. _

_I stared at them incredulously, "Sophie?" I asked, feeling sick to __my stomach._

_Sophie was one__ of my close friends, or so I thought. I'd known her since we were 5 years old when she moved down the street from me._

_Chelsea nodded looking tearful, "Bells I'm so sorry, it might not be true, we overheard Cara and Jenny talking about whether or not they would ever tell you and go public and you know how notorious those two are for gossiping and getting the truth wrong". _

_True I did know that, and if it was a rumour regarding anyone else I would have immediately dismissed it as being a load of crap. However Cara and Jenny were best friends with Sophie and not to mention __the fact that they were her room mates! Plus if I really thought about it Brad had been acting a little shady lately._

"_Maybe you should talk to Brad first?" suggested Tara breaking my free of my thoughts, "Get the trut__h straight before you dwell on it too much"._

"_You'__re right, I should" I said trying to hold it together._

"_We'll come with you" Chelsea said, "That is if you want? We wouldn't let you go alone"._

_Tara nodded in agreement "how about we meet at your place after our last lecture and we will drive you over to Brad's to get the story straight. Plus we can beat him up for you if you like?" Tara always knew how to make me laugh even in the most horrible of situations._

"_Thanks guys" I said wiping away a few __tears that had managed to escape._

_Later that afternoon_

_As we pulled up outside the apartment Brad shared with his friends I began to feel sicker than before as I realised I was about to find out if my boyfriend had committed the ultimate betrayal._

"_Stay strong babe" Chelsea said wrapping her arm around me, "Do you want us to come in with you or wait in the car?"_

"_Come in with me please" I begged._

"_Sure" said Tara grabbing my hand and guiding me to the front door._

_I knocked__ and a few moments later Brad opened the door. "Hey beautiful" he greeted me._

_Chelsea muttered something under her breath that sounded like cheating bastard and Tara practically growled at him. _

"_Hey Chels, Tara" he offered looking confused __when he saw the angry expressions on their faces. "Come on in" he told us holding the door open wider._

"_So, __what do I owe the pleasure ladies?" he asked._

"_Listen Brad, can we talk alone, perhaps i__n your room?" I asked nervously._

"_Sure" he said with a wink__._

"_Pig" muttered Tara. _

"_I won't be long" I sai__d over my shoulder to the girls._

"_Take your time Bells" said Chelsea, "We'll be right here if you need us". _

_Brad walked into his room and shut the door after me, "What did you wanna talk about?" he asked._

"_I need you to te__ll me the truth" I said angrily._

"_About what?"__ he asked still confused._

_The look on his face just made me even angrier, how could he play dumb when he knew exactly what I was talking about. "A rumour I heard today, I want to know if it's true". _

_He __blanched; "Okay" he said sounding guilty as all hell. Finally he had cottoned on._

"_Have you been cheating on me?" I demanded, "and with one of my friends no less?" I questioned standing in front of him with the arms folded across my chest._

"_I never meant to hurt you Bella" he said dejectedly looking at his feet._

"_So it is true then, you have been sleeping with Sophie?"__ I asked, I could feel the anger bubbling up inside me, getting stronger. I was a little surprised by that, I was expecting to feel devastated. In fact I had been waiting for the water works to start and the feeling of betrayal and rejection to hit._

"_Yes, but __I never meant for it to happen."_

_I looked at him with disbelief; "I'm guessing that means it wasn't just a one off?"_

"_No" he admitted, "I'm sorry Bella, so sorry!" he said, "I wasn't sure what to do, I love you Bella and I don't want to end things but it's complicated with Sophie…"_

_I cut him off "You can't have it both ways Brad" I scoffed, "And what do y__ou mean by its complicated?" _

"_There's something I should probably tell you before you hear i__t through someone else" he said._

"_Well it's a __bit late for that!" I exclaimed. _

"_Bella, Sophie she's pregnant" he blurted out. _

_Of all the things I imagined him saying this was not one of them, I was in total shock staring at him with my mouth open wide. "What the hell?" I __spat, "and you're the father, oh this is just perfect" I muttered more to myself than him._

"_Yes" he muttered._

"_Well this is just great__, you know what Brad, you and Sophie deserve each other. I'm done, we are through!" I told him before storming out of the room._

_*End of Flashback*_

After that day I threw my self into studying for my exams, determined not to think about what happened. I felt angry more than anything else, at them for betraying me and at myself for not seeing what had been right in front of me.

It was hard to not dwell on it, it seemed more people I considered to be friends knew about Brad and Sophie than I had expected.

I had never been more thankful for weeks packed with late night studying and back to back exams so I didn't have to listen to people whispering about what happened.

Once exams were over Renee, my mom and Phil my step father announced that Phil had been offered a job in Jacksonville, Florida and were considering a move there.

Renee was reluctant to leave me considering what I'd been through, even though I'm 20 years old and more than capable of looking after myself I had to repeatedly tell her.

It was perfect timing really; I had been tossing up for weeks what to do, to stay and pretend that Brad and Sophie don't exist or to leave.

I made my decision a day later when Alice and Rosalie called me; Allie and Rose are my best friends, like sisters really. We became fast friends when we were younger when I would stay with my father Charlie every summer in a small town called Forks, the town from which my mother left with me when I was just four years old.

When I was fifteen and Mom married Phil I moved to Forks for a few years to give them time alone before returning to Phoenix when I graduated high school.

During those years Alice, Rosalie and I became very close, we stayed in touch when I left and visited each other as often as we could. Which lately had been all that often and that made me feel more than a little guilty.

Alice and Rosalie had the perfect solution to my dilemma, a spare room in an amazing house that Alice's parents had bought for the girls to live in while studying.

The choice was easy, so Seattle here I come!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: A big thanks to BooBooBaby52 for leaving me my first ever review, you rock! Thanks to everyone who added me to their favourite author and stories lists too =) Here is chapter 2….. Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight, Ms Meyer does**

**Chapter songs: The Dog Days Are Over – Florence and the Machine and Everything (Take Me Down) – Dane Rumble**

Two days of driving, one over night stay in a not so nice hotel room and many rest stops later I was finally in Seattle according to the welcome sign asking me to enjoy my stay. It was raining, but that didn't surprise me, I had already bid farewell to the heat and frequent sunshine that Phoenix provided.

As I pondered this my cell phone rang, _Alice is calling_ my screen notified me, "Alice, hey!" I answered.

"Bella! Are you far away? You haven't gotten lost have you?" Alice asked laughing.

"No I haven't gotten lost, I'm almost there maybe half an hour" I replied. "See you soon Bells, I'm so excited to see you!"

Half an hour later I pulled into the driveway of the address Alice had given me, the driveway split of into a fork at the end; our house was up the left hand drive and was amazing! Two storey, brick, almost a terracotta colour and big! But I didn't expect anything less; Alice doesn't do things by halves.

I turned off my engine and got out of my car, a dark blue Ford Taurus wagon, and was immediately tackled in a hug by who I presumed was Alice.

"Bella! You're finally here; it's soooo good to see you!" Alice squealed.

"My turn Allie!" Rosalie demanded pushing Alice off me and hugging me "I've missed you heaps Bells, we have so much catching up to do!" exclaimed Rosalie.

"Me too guys, I am so happy to be here" I said stepping back to take a good look at my two besties.

Alice looked much the same as always, she was still tiny, pixie like, with straight black hair reaching just below her shoulders, and blue eyes **(A/N my Alice in this story looks like Ashley Greene but with darker hair).**

Rosalie is tall and slim with the kind of figure models would envy, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, both were dressed like the fashion lovers they are and looked gorgeous!

I on the other hand consider myself rather plain in comparison, long dark brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin **(A/N Bella is just as gorgeous as the other two but doesn't see herself clearly…!). **

I then noticed the three guys standing behind them all incredibly good looking in their own right, one was tall, lanky but slightly muscled with honey blonde hair and bright blue eyes, Jasper I presumed.

The second man was huge! Tall, and muscled, like he worked out a lot, he had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, he had to be Emmett.

The third was the hottest guy I had ever seen he was like a Greek Adonis in the flesh, tall and slightly muscled, a little shorter than the blonde, he had brunette hair, but it was the most beautiful shade of bronze and he had emerald green eyes.

I had to mentally pull myself together to stop myself from drooling and looking like a total idiot.

"Bella, this is my Jasper!" Alice exclaimed, excitedly pulling the blonde man to a halt in front of me.

"Hi I'm Jasper Whitlock" he said giving me a quick hug "It's nice to finally meet you Bella, Alice has been talking about you non stop for weeks!"

"You too Jasper" I chuckled.

"This is Emmett" Rose said gesturing to the huge dark haired guy beside her.

"Bellsy!" Emmett shouted pulling me into a tight bear hug "Welcome little one".

"Thanks Emmett, it's great to meet you too, but I kinda can't breathe!" I choked out.

"Emmett Alexander Joshua Cullen put her down!" shouted Rosalie laughing.

"Sorry Rosie, sorry Bella" Emmett laughed.

"Hello I'm Edward Cullen" said a musical voice, I looked up he was even more gorgeous up close.

Pull yourself together Bella I thought trying to remember to breathe.

"It's great to meet you" said Edward pulling me in for a hug.

"You too Edward" I said, I wanted to say more but I was certain if I tried it wouldn't be coherent.

"Come on Bella" said Alice tugging on my hand "I want to show you the house! You are totally going to love your room!"

The house was just as amazing inside as the outside was, with a large open plan kitchen and dining room, a huge living area, laundry, bathroom, guest room and garage downstairs and upstairs our three bedrooms, Alice's with an en suite bathroom and a bathroom for me and Rose to share.

My room was perfect, the walls were a cream colour with a dark purple wall where my bed head was, the furniture and other furnishings all continued the colour scheme, and it was perfect!

"So what do you think? Do you like your room?" asked Alice.

"Its great Alice! I love it!" I exclaimed happily.

After the tour we found that Emmett, Edward and Jasper had unpacked my car for me with all my boxes sitting in the hallway, they said they would let us catch up before coming over later to hang out for the night.

The girls helped me unpack, immediately Alice and Rose started sorting through my clothes.

"Isabella Marie Swan what the hell are these?" demanded Alice holding up a pair of my favourite sweat pants.

I looked at her sheepishly, Alice hated sweatpants, she often ranted about how they were a crime against fashion.

"Sweatpants" I said shrugging turning back to the box of books I was unpacking.

"Well yes" Alice said standing with her hands on her hips, "But why do you need ten pairs!" she demanded gesturing to the pile around her.

"They are comfortable" I said in a defensive tone.

"Do you wear them for running or to the gym or something?" she questioned.

"Ummm no" I muttered, "I wear them round the house, to the store, the supermarket…"

"You wear these in public!" Alice shouted in a disbelieving tone with a shocked look on her face.

I was struggling not to laugh Alice was hilarious when she was like this, I glanced at Rose, which turned out to be a bad idea, she was shaking with silent laughter watching the scene unfold.

"Alice, they aren't that bad" I replied giggling.

"Not that bad? These ones have holes in them!" she exclaimed holding up a particularly old pair, poking her finger through the hole and looking at it in disgust.

Rosalie and I burst out laughing; Alice glared at us before erupting into giggles herself.

"Bella, you have to get rid of those" said Rosalie, Alice nodded in agreement.

"Okay I guess those ones look pretty awful" I agreed.

Instantly I regretted agreeing with them, they looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes then back to me.

"Bella…" Alice said slowly, "We should totally take you shopping!" she squealed, I looked at her in horror, I hated shopping.

"Oh Bella please!" they begged, "It'll be so much fun".

I highly doubted that, but I thought perhaps it would be kind of nice to have a new look to match my fresh start in Seattle, as I was pondering this I looked around at my clothes strewn over the floor, I did have a few grand saved up from my weekend/holiday job back in Phoenix, that should cover a new closet. Suddenly I felt excited by the prospect, I had nothing to lose.

"Fine" I said, "Lets do this", "Eeeeeeeeeeeee" squealed Alice jumping up and down.

"Does this mean we get to make over your whole closet?" asked Rose with a gleam in her eye.

"Yes" I sighed knowing that later I would regret agreeing to this.

"Excellent" Rose exclaimed clapping her hands together.

Alice was still jumping up and down, "We will be just like Trinny and Susannah!" she said excitedly, "But not quite as mean" she promised. "Lets get started now" she demanded.

An hour later my room was a total mess, there were piles of clothes destined for goodwill and only a few hanging in my closet or folded in my drawers. We had decided that our shopping trip would take place tomorrow, Friday.

We still hadn't come to an agreement about my sweatpants collection, Alice wanted to burn them all, whereas I was refusing to let her touch them. In the middle of our debate we heard the boys calling from downstairs.

"Ladies!" shouted Emmett, "We have DVD's, beers and pizza!" I glanced at my watch, wow it was 6:00pm already! We threw the remaining clothes into boxes to drop off to goodwill tomorrow and hurried downstairs after Rose informed me that if we didn't head down now Emmett would devour all the pizza himself.

We all settled in the living room, with the pizza and beers, immediately the questioning began.

I told them about my Mom and Phil living in Phoenix and moving there when I was young, about my Dad, Charlie, being the Chief of Police in Forks and how when he married Sue Clearwater last year I gained a step sister, Leah and a step brother Seth.

I found out that Emmett was a personal fitness trainer at a local gym and that Jasper and Edward were both studying at the University of Washington Seattle like Alice and Rosalie. Jasper was studying history; Edward was doing architecture and the girls fashion and design. I had just enrolled there too, studying for my degree in English. I also learnt that the boys lived next door to us, down the right hand side of our shared driveway, and that Emmett was Edward's older brother by about a year and Jasper was their cousin.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out and getting to know each other. I found we all had a lot in common and was relieved I was fitting in so well. Later that night as I lay in bed I realised that I had made the best decision in my life to move here, I felt happier than I had in a long time. But most importantly I felt at home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Another shout out to BooBooBaby52 for reviewing, you're a star! Please read review and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight Stephanie Meyer does *sigh***

**Chapter songs: Friends – Band of Skulls, Hot N Cold – Katy Perry**

When I woke up the next morning it was sunny! I decided that perhaps it was a sign that today's shopping trip wouldn't be as bad as I was anticipating.

I grabbed a pair of jeans, a cute white top and headed for the bathroom. After showering I felt a little more awake as I made the trip downstairs to the kitchen. Rose was making breakfast, pancakes, while Alice was sitting at the breakfast bar poring over fashion magazines.

"Morning" I said happily.

"Morning Bells" they chimed, "Coffee?" Rose offered.

"Please" I replied. Alice looked up from her magazine.

"Today is going to be so much fun!" Alice exclaimed, while I doubted it would be I smiled back at her, I had to remind myself that I had bought this all on myself. "Oh and Bella by the way this shopping trip is on me and Rose" she said with a grin.

"What! No you guys, I have a bit of money saved up" I protested.

"No arguing" said Rose sternly, "It's a welcome home present" I backed down sensing I wasn't going to win this argument.

After breakfast we all piled into Alice's bright yellow Porsche 911 turbo, a Christmas present last year from her parents. She turned up the stereo and sped down the drive. Less than fifteen minutes later, due to Alice's penchant for fast driving, we pulled into the mall car park. It was early, before 9:00am, the girls informed me that it would take us the whole day to buy everything I would need, all day? I thought groaning inwardly.

Rose and Alice dragged me into every store in the entire mall devoted to woman's clothing, after explaining that we would need to purchase shoes, accessories, hand bags and beauty products after we knew what outfits we had to work with.

I was in a state of shock when in one of the designer stores they had dragged me into, the sales woman rang up our purchases and the figure was in the thousands. Rosalie didn't even bat an eyelid as she handed over her credit card, after we left I began to protest but it fell on deaf ears.

Both Alice and Rosalie's parent were well off. Alice's father Darryl Brandon was the CEO of Eclipse Records while her mother Jennifer was a successful events planner.

Rosalie's mother Lillian was an art gallery curator/owner of the Port Angeles Art Gallery and her father Ian was a lawyer. Both families despite their wealth were kind and generous and incredibly down to earth.

Finally we stopped for lunch after much begging on my part. Rose pointed out a little café and we decided to eat there.

"Having fun yet?" asked Rose looking over her menu.

"Umm" I said, I was having fun much to my surprise but I was well aware that if I admitted this now I would be dragged out on shopping trips more frequently than I could handle. "Yes" I admitted.

Rose and Alice looked smug, "Told you" replied Alice.

At 5:00pm Alice and Rose finally declared we were done, I was exhausted. We had had to make several trips to the car to unload bags during the day but my arms were full again. They had gone completely overboard, I now had new everything, and I mean everything!

They even dragged me into Victoria's Secret and forced me to buy new underwear. But I had to admit I was pleased with most of our purchases, there were a few items I was less than thrilled to now possess including a dress that showed more skin than I was used to but Alice was very persistent.

We finally arrived home and unloaded all of my bags. While we were putting away my new clothes the girls announced that we were going out for dinner tonight with the boys and that tomorrow night a friend of theirs was having a party since summer vacation was almost over. I was pleased that we would be spending time with the boys tonight; this was mainly because I was excited to see Edward again but not so thrilled about the prospect of a party. No doubt being the new comer I would be a novelty and I was clumsy enough as it was without being the centre of attention.

"Bella Barbie time" Alice exclaimed after we had finished putting away all of the days purchases. I groaned. I knew what this meant.

"We will have to be quick Alice" said Rose glancing at her watch, "Reservations are for 7:30pm".

It was only 6, plenty of time I thought, "Crap!" exclaimed Alice.

One and a half hours later we were ready.

Alice was wearing a cute pair of dressy black shorts with a white top and a thick black belt and heels.

Rose had on tight black skinny jeans and an off the shoulder red printed top with stilettos.

They had dressed me in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a black sequined top, my hair was lightly curled and they had given my eyes the smoky look. Rose had even managed to get me into a pair of heels, with a small heel. I was feeling a little apprehensive about this, my track record for injuring myself while attempting to walk in heels was high.

We met the guys out the front. Emmett proudly introduced me to his baby, a red Hummer; it was fitting considering how huge Emmett was and told me we were all going to ride together. I climbed into the massive car and Edward jumped in and sat beside me.

"How was your shopping trip?" asked Edward with a knowing smile.

"Long and tiring" I replied smiling, "But it was fun".

He chuckled, he opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Emmett who turned up the stereo and shouting in a booming voice "I love this song!" when he heard Katy Perry's Hot N Cold through the speakers.

Jasper sniggered, "What?" exclaimed Emmett, "its Rosalie's CD not mine" he said defensively "and besides it's an awesome song".

He knew all the words and had even invented his own dance moves; it was hilarious seeing him bouncing around in his seat. When Alice and I began to sing along with him, Emmett grinned at me through the rear view mirror, "See Bella knows the words too!" he said excitedly.

"Yeah Em but the difference is Bella's a girl! It's totally a chick's song" retorted Jasper laughing, we all laughed.

"Jazz is just jealous" Emmett informed me, "He just wishes he could pull off these awesome dance moves" Emmett began waving his arms around singing louder than before.

Ten minutes later we pulled up outside Bob's Seafood and Steak Bar and piled out of the car. Our waiter for the evening, Patrick, showed us to our seats. Patrick handed us all menus and asked for our drinks orders. I began to feel a little uncomfortable when I noticed him staring at me.

He returned with our drinks and took down our dinner orders; Emmett ordered for himself enough food to feed a small army!

"And what can I get for you beautiful?" Patrick asked me in a suggestive tone, eww I thought what a creeper.

I looked at him with one eyebrow raised, "I'll have the steak burger, thanks" I said in a dismissing tone.

"Be right back" he said with a wink, obviously my subtle hint wasn't enough. Edward was sitting beside me with his fists clenched looking irritated, I wondered what had got him all worked up?

"That was so gross" complained Rose.

"He was such a creep" agreed Alice.

The rest of the meal was great; Jasper became very chatty after a few drinks and had us all laughing with some ridiculous jokes.

At the end of the night Patrick bought the bill to us, when Jasper opened the folder he burst out laughing, "Ooh look Bella he left you a wee note!" he said in a girlish voice.

Alice grabbed it out of Jaspers hands, "with his phone number" she added. I looked at her unimpressed, "maybe you should call him Bella?" she asked,."

I hope you aren't being serious?" I replied annoyed. She laughed.

"Bella can do better than that!" exclaimed Rose snatching the note from Alice and screwing it up into a ball.

"He was totally unprofessional" piped up Edward in an agitated tone, "You should say something to his manager" his fists were still clenched resting on the table.

"Gee Edward! No need to get so worked up!" said Alice rolling her eyes and exchanging a smirk with Rose.

I had a strange feeling that little pixie was up to no good.

**Author's note: I hope you are all enjoying my story so far! I had writers block while writing this chapter so hopefully it's not to boring! I will hopefully be putting links up on my profile for their outfits soon. Does anyone know a good site for doing this?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: A little warning in advance, there will be more swearing in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight Stephanie Meyer does…**

**Chapter songs: Open Happiness – Brendon Urie, Cee-Lo Green, Janelle Monae, Patrick Stump & Travie McCoy and Womanizer – Britney Spears**

When I woke up on Saturday morning the rain had returned, groaning I rolled over in bed deciding not to get up and go for a run as I had been planning on doing. I looked at the clock, 8:00am it read, I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep so I hauled myself out of bed.

After a shower I decided to make Alice and Rose breakfast since they were still in bed, I also figured I should probably call Renee as we had only exchanged texts since I had arrived. They were leaving tomorrow for Florida and no doubt being as scatter brained as Renee is she would be frantically running around packing things she had forgotten.

"Bella!" she exclaimed when she answered the phone.

"Hey Mom, I hope I'm not calling to early?" I asked.

"Of course not honey! I miss you!" she replied.

"I miss you too Mom" I answered, I really did miss Renee, we were very close despite our different personalities.

"So how's Seattle? Are you settling in okay? How are Alice and Rosalie?" she asked.

"Good, yes and good" I replied before launching into more detail. I told her about the house, the shopping trip and meeting Edward, Emmett and Jasper.

"You have to email me some photos soon" she demanded.

"I will Mom, I promise. How's the packing going?" I asked.

"Oh Bella! I can't find my cell phone charger, do you know where I put it?" she said.

I laughed, "Mom it's in the junk drawer in kitchen" I replied and she laughed in response.

"How on earth did it end up there?" she mused.

We talked for a little longer until she said she had to go and finish packing.

"Promise me you will come and visit us when we are settled in Jacksonville honey" Renee begged/

"Sure Mom, I'd like that".

"I love you Bella" she replied.

"Love you too Mom, travel safe okay?"

Not long after I hung up on Renee Alice came bounding into the kitchen.

"Morning Bella! Mmmm that smells good!"

"Morning Allie, its strawberry waffles" I replied.

"Oh and that outfit is super cute! That definitely has the Alice seal of approval" she squealed.

I laughed "Thanks!" I was wearing black skinny jeans and a dark blue top with a print of little white doves on it **(A/N it's really hard to describe so I will try to put a picture on my profile soon)**.

"Jasper and the boys are coming over, I hope that's okay?" Alice asked.

"Cool, that's fine. I made heaps of food so I'm sure there will be plenty" I replied. My heart fluttered a little at the thought of seeing Edward. Internally I scolded myself. Someone as good looking as Edward would never be interested in someone as plain as me I told myself, there was no point in thinking otherwise and getting my hopes up.

Ten minutes later Emmett announced their arrival, "Ladies! I smell food! Are you sharing?" he shouted.

"Sure!" I said.

"Morning Bella" Edward greeted me, with a dazzling smile. My mind went blank, holy crow he was gorgeous; I managed to pull myself together, barely.

"Hhhii" I stuttered, nice one Bella I thought.

Jasper and Alice were greeting each other in a way that I wasn't sure I wanted to witness so I quickly looked away.

"Rosie's not up then?" Emmett asked with a mischievous look in his eyes.

Rosalie was not a morning person, she openly called her self 'a total bitch' if woken before she was ready. Without waiting for a response Emmett bounded out of the room and up the stairs.

"Emmett!" screeched Rosalie "What the hell!"

We all erupted into laughter, "Come on guys lets eat I'm starving!" Alice said sitting down at the table.

Emmett and Rose eventually joined us looking flushed, it was obvious as to why they had been upstairs for so long. But I didn't need confirmation or mental images so none of us mentioned it.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Rose, "The party isn't till like 6 right?"

"I think so" replied Alice.

"Maybe we could give Bella a tour of Seattle?" suggested Jasper, "You know we could go to the Space Needle, stuff like that?"

"That sounds good" I agreed.

"Awesome!" boomed Emmett, "Mini road trip!"

After seeing the sights Seattle had on offer we headed home to hang out at the boys place before getting ready for the party. Their house was a mirror image of ours and was surprisingly tidy considering. It turned out that Edward and Emmett's parents had had the same idea as Alice's. They bought and decorated the place for the boys to live in while studying which was how Rose and Alice met and started dating Emmett and Jasper.

We had settled in the living room debating on what TV channel to watch when my phone started ringing.

I looked at the caller display; _Brad is calling_ my screen told me. What the hell? I thought angrily. When I had first broke up with me he had taken to calling me frequently and texting me begging to take him back. Every text he would tell me he had something important to tell me. I ignored every one of his calls or messages; I didn't want to hear it. I threw my phone down on the sofa with a little more force than necessary huffing angrily.

"What's wrong hun? Who was that?" asked Alice concerned.

I looked up and saw five pairs of curious eyes looking at me. I slouched back into the sofa crossing my arms and "Brad" I spat out.

"What the hell does he want!" said Rose in a furious tone.

"I don't know and I don't care" I replied childishly.

"Who's Brad?" asked Emmett confused, Edward was looking at me with an odd expression on his face.

Just then my phone started to ring again; I was now starting to get more than a little pissed off. I presumed that the reason for his call was that he had only just discovered that I had left Phoenix. I snatched up my phone and sat pondering my next move.

"You should totally answer it and give that cheating arsehole a piece of your mind" Rose blurted out, her tone dripping with anger. Edward, Emmett and Jasper now looked beyond confused.

Without giving it a second thought I answered my phone.

"What?" I spat out.

"Bella!" Brad replied, the joy he felt that I had finally answered one for his calls was evident in his tone.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked bluntly, when it came to Brad I was not in the mood for manners or niceties.

"I've been trying to call you for the last two months and you haven't been answering any of my calls" he replied sadly.

"And why do you think that is?" I asked sarcastically.

"Then today I hear you've left town!" he interrupted, "You didn't tell me you were moving" he accused.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I retorted anger bubbling up inside of me. I was pissed off, how dare he!

"I wonder why I haven't been answering any of your calls" I said sarcastically, "Hmmmm maybe it's because you cheated on me and got my best friend pregnant!" I screamed into the phone, in my anger I had forgotten there was anyone else in the room.

"I thought I made it quite clear when I broke up with you that I never wanted to speak to you or her ever again" I spat, I hadn't spoken to either of them since that day, everything I had imagined saying was now flowing freely out. "I don't owe you anything! It's none of your business where or why I moved" I ranted.

"I'm sorry Bella" he interrupted me, "I regret what happened every day, it was a mistake! You have to forgive me" he begged.

"So what?" I asked "You are just going to ditch Sophie now are you? Got what you wanted and now you think you can get me back? News flash Brad, you got her pregnant, you cheated on me. I found out. You fucked up. Deal with it." I retorted.

"But Bella, that's what I wanted to talk to you about" Brad whined "The baby isn't mine".

**Cliff hanger! I hope you enjoyed Bella giving Brad a piece of her mind. So is this new information going to change anything...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A****uthor's note: Thanks to all my reviewers! I love hearing your feedback about the story. **

**I know that the drinking age in America is 21 but here in New Zealand it's 18 so I have gone with that in this story =)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight...**

**Chapter songs: F*** You – Cee-Lo Green, I Like It – Enrique Iglesias feat Pitbull, Right Round – Florida feat Ke$ha, Club Can't Handle Me – Florida and I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry.**

I froze, my brain struggling to process the words Brad had just uttered. "What?" I asked bluntly unable to get any other words out.

"The baby isn't mine Bella. Turns out Sophie was doing the dirty on me too." He replied I could hear the disbelief and underlying anger in his tone.

I began to laugh "This is just classic!" I choked out, "So how does it feel? Like a kick in the stomach?" I chortled.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked angrily.

"Because you got exactly what you deserve and I can't believe you are even trying to get sympathy from me!"

He was unbelievable; he was deluded if he ever thought he would have a chance with me again based on this information. "Look Brad" I said, "I don't know what you were hoping for by telling me all this, but I really don't care!" I exclaimed. "As far as I'm concerned you are still a lying scumbag."

"But Bella I love you!" he interrupted.

"Well I don't feel the same. Fuck you! And by the way karma is such a bitch!" I replied snapping my phone shut.

I sat for a moment, relishing in how good it felt to finally stand up for myself and get out all of my pent up emotions.

"Bella?" asked Alice in a timid voice "Are you okay?" the sound of her voice broke me from my musings.

I looked up to see them all staring at me. "

Umm yeah. I'm sorry about that, I kind of forgot you were all in the room" I said apologetically.

"No no, its fine!" exclaimed Rosalie "That was awesome Bella! You totally told him".

"So what happened?" asked Alice.

I filled them in on what Brad had told me on the phone, I wasn't really planning on ever sharing with anyone apart from the girls why I had left Phoenix in great detail but since Edward, Emmett and Jasper had now overheard everything it made sense to.

"He cheated on you?" asked Edward outraged, Emmett and Jasper looked livid, "Why on earth would anyone cheat on you! You're beautiful not to mention amazing".

We all stared at Edward, he looked embarrassed by his outburst, like he had said more than he intended. I on the other hand was relishing in the fact that he thought I was beautiful; my heart skipped a beat.

Alice came over and gave me a hug, "I'm proud of you Bella." She said "But are you sure you are okay? We don't have to go to this party tonight. I would totally understand if you weren't feeling up for it"

"No way! I feel fine. Talking to him just confirmed that I really am over him! We are definitely going tonight!" I replied smiling, There was no way in hell I was going to let Brad get me down. I looked at my watch, "It looks like its Bella Barbie time to me" I said with a grin on my face.

Two hours later, yes it took us two hours to get ready and for once I didn't complain. We all looked hot!

Rosalie was wearing a red dress with a plunging neckline and gold stilettos; her long blonde hair was out and slightly wavy.

Alice had her dark hair down and poker straight, her dress was a midnight blue one shoulder number. She had the highest heels on I had ever seen, black and sequinned.

They had dressed me in one of the dresses we had purchased during yesterdays shopping spree. It was strapless, emerald green, with rouched detail in the front. I loved it, they had even persuaded me to wear a pair of matching heels. My make up looked amazing and my hair was out and wavy.

"Damn Bella!" said Rose appraising my outfit, "You are going to make the boys drool tonight!"

We headed downstairs to where the boys were waiting.

Emmett whistled at us, "Looking hot ladies!" he boomed putting his arm around Rose proceeding to make out with her, I looked away quickly and noticed Edward staring at me.

Weird I thought maybe I have something in my teeth.

"Come on let's go!" squealed Alice, "the taxis here!"

We all got into the taxi and Jasper gave the driver directions. I turned to Edward, who was sitting beside me and asked "Whose party are we headed to?"

"Oh, a friend of ours, Alex Cooper" he replied. "We've known him since high school, he studies here at University of Washington too" he informed me, "Every year he throws a massive party in the summer break."

"Oh cool" I replied, massive equalled lots of people, I hoped I wouldn't trip and embarrass myself in my death trap heels. We pulled up outside a huge function centre/

"Whoa looks like he went all out this year" remarked Jasper.

We paid the driver and headed inside, "Hey!" I heard a voice shout, "You made it!" a tall, dark haired guy made his way over to us.

"Yo Alex!" yelled Emmett, "Nice job" he nodded approvingly.

"Thanks man!" he said patting Emmett on the back.

"Bella this is Alex Cooper, Alex this is Bella Swan" Alice said.

"Nice to meet you Bella!" Alex said pulling me in for a hug, "Glad you could make it".

"Thanks for inviting me" I replied earnestly.

"I'm sure you all know the drill, the bar is over there" Alex said gesturing to the far end of the room, "There's an unlimited bar tab, so go crazy!" he said happily.

"Awesome!" shouted Emmett "Who wants a drink?"

We told him what we wanted and he, Jasper and Edward made their way through the crowd to the bar.

"I'll see you girls later, I better go make the rounds" said Alex smiling, "Jane is around here somewhere, she is super excited to see you all and meet Bella".

"Who's Jane?" I asked Alice and Rose.

"She's Alex's little sister, she's 18" replied Alice.

"She's cool, she's kind of like a blonde version of Alice" Rose added.

Just then I heard a loud squeal I looked up and saw a pretty blonde girl in a purple dress making her way over to us. Jane, I presumed.

"Alice, Rosalie! It's so good to see you both!" she said happily "And you must be Bella! It's great to meet you! I'm Jane" she said hugging me.

"Hi Jane, it's nice to meet you too" I replied.

The boys returned with our drinks, "Hi Jane" they said.

"Hey!" Jane replied, "Edward, I thought I should warn you. Tanya's here."

Edward looked furious, "Great" he spat out.

"I know, she wasn't even invited" Jane remarked, "Alex told me to tell you if she causes any trouble or annoys you he will get her thrown out"

"Thanks Jane" Edward replied looking tense.

I looked at the group confused, catching Emmett's eye.

"Tanya is Edward's bitch of an ex girlfriend" he informed me.

"That's the tramp over there, in the hot pink" added Alice gesturing to the bar.

Tanya looked like a model, long straight blonde hair, a curvy figure and she was wearing a tight hot pink dress. My stomach plummeted, I felt suddenly inferior. There was no way Edward would ever go for someone like me if that was the kind of girl he usually dated. Hang on Bella I thought, Edward was a friend, nothing more.

An hour later I was feeling tipsy, I was sure I wasn't the only one either. Emmett had gotten progressively louder and more amusing the more alcohol he consumed and so had Jasper! Edward had so far successfully avoided Tanya by sticking close to my side, I didn't mind at all.

"Bells, let's dance!" screeched Alice.

"Alice I can't dance" I moaned.

"Please Bella" she begged pouting at me with puppy dog eyes, dammit!

"Fine" I said giving in, "But only if I can have a couple of shots first" if I was dance I needed a strong drink to loosen up

"Wooooo!" yelled Emmett excitedly "Tequila time!"

We all made our way towards the bar where Emmett ordered us all two shots each.

"Let's do a toast!" exclaimed Alice "To Bella for telling Brad to suck it!"

"To Bella!" they all shouted downing their shots.

"Time to dance!" announced Alice once we had finished our shots.

"We will watch the drinks" said Jasper heading off to a table with Edward.

"Come on ladies!" encouraged Emmett ushering us towards the dance floor.

I like it by Enrique and Pitbull came on over the speakers and Emmett began to shout out the words pumping his arms in the air.

_One Love.. One Love  
Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull  
Ya'll know what time it is.  
We go set it off tonight, just go  
Set the club on fire, just go  
Enrique! Holla at them like…_

We all laughed, Emmett was jumping around singing and swaying from side to side. He grabbed Rosalie and twirled her around; Alice grabbed me and started dancing close.

"Let's make Edward and Jasper drool!" she said.

I laughed agreeing. It was safe to say I was drunk now as Alice and I dirty danced, sneaking glances at Edward and Jasper and laughing at their reactions.

Right Round by Florida came on and Rose joined us.

_From the top of the pole I watch her go [down]_

We sang together dancing right down to the floor; we were getting stares from all the males in the vicinity by now.

_She got me throwin my money a[round]  
Ain't nothin more beautiful to be [found]  
It's goin down down._

We began to sway our hips to the beat.

_From the top of the pole I watch her go [down]  
She got me throwin my money [around]  
Ain't nothin more beautiful to be [found]  
It's goin down down_

I was having a great time, Emmett had gotten us more shots from the bar and Jasper was now dancing wildly with his arms in the air to Club Can't Handle Me while Rose and I whooped and laughed. Edward and Emmett began filming him on their phones claiming that this footage may one day come in handy.

The night wore on and Edward had still managed to avoid Tanya, I was slumped in a seat in front of a table covered in drinks internally debated whether or not I should have another drink. Edward slid into the seat beside me; he looked pretty drunk although not as bad as the rest of us.

"Having fun?" he asked his smile dazzling me, he was so close I feel the heat coming off his body.

"Mmmm" I replied smiling stupidly. He laughed, "I think I shouldn't have had that last shot" I mused.

"I don't think Jasper should have had those last three" he remarked gesturing at Jasper.

Jasper was dancing on top of a table singing into a beer bottle as though it was a microphone to I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry.

I burst out laughing, "True, he is going to feel awful tomorrow" I said.

We sat and watched for a while; I was starting to get sleepy from the copious amounts of alcohol I had drunk.

"Maybe I should take you home?" asked Edward, I liked the sound of that more than I should, he just meant it in a friendly way "The others can get a taxi when they are ready to leave"

"Okay" I agreed readily.

**Author's note: That won't be the last we see of Tanya...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Just to let you all know I have changed the University they attend to University of Washington Seattle instead. Sorry for the mix up! Also this is my longest chapter yet!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight not me!**

**Chapter songs: Holy Moly – Motorcade, Live Your Life –TI feat Rihanna **

I had been in Seattle for two weeks now, I hadn't heard from Brad since the phone call and life couldn't be better.

My birthday was three days away. I was turning 21, and Alice had planned a party. Small she promised, just a few close friends from high school, Charlie and Sue, Leah and Seth, the Quileute boys from the reservation. Alice and Rosalie's parents were going to be there too and their siblings.

I had to admit I was looking forward to my party. Alice had a surprise planned for me that she said I would love and she wasn't giving me any clues.

Since my birthday was on a Monday she had organised that party for Saturday 18th September 2010, 7:00pm onwards I read on the invitation.

Today was Friday, I had woken early due to the brilliant sunshine streaming through my bedroom window, and not wanting to miss a second of it since summer was officially over I rose out of bed and quickly got dressed for the day.

Tonight we were going to Tyler Crowley's house warming. Tyler went to Forks High like Rose, Alice and I, he had moved out of the college dorms this year and had found a place with Eric Yorkie, Ben Cheney and Mike Newton who we also went to school with. I was looking forward to seeing some old friends, with the exception of Lauren Mallory who I hoped wasn't going to be there.

Lauren had hated me from the very first day I set foot in Forks High back when I was fifteen and I was certain her feelings towards me wouldn't have changed much over time. I set about making breakfast and was soon joined by Alice and Jasper.

"Morning!" trilled Alice, Jasper had stayed over last night so it was fairly obvious as to why Alice was in a terrific mood.

"Morning Bella" added Jasper.

"Hey guys sleep well?" I asked.

"Well there wasn't that much sleeping going on but yes, thanks!" Alice informed me grabbing a piece of toast.

"Too much information Allie!" I exclaimed.

Alice laughed "We so need to get you a man Bella, I could set you up if you want" she said winking.

I rolled my eyes; I was wondering how long it would take her to bring up my single state and beg to set me up.

"No thanks Allie, I'm doing just fine" and I was.

Ever since I broke up with Brad a month and a half ago I was perfectly content. Although I was still trying to convince myself that my developing feelings for Edward were only ones of friendship but I hadn't told Alice or Rose this. They would take that juicy piece of information and run with it.

Both sets of couples went out for the day to spend some quality time together so I had the house to myself. I caught up on my laundry and sent a few emails then grabbed my well loved copy of Wuthering Heights and headed outside to soak up the sun.

An hour or so later there was a knock at the door; I hurried to see who it was. I opened the door to find Edward standing there; he looked amazing in low rise jeans and a t-shirt that clung just a little in all the right places.

"Hey" he greeted me, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" he asked.

"Hi! No not at all I was just reading, come on in" I replied, my heart spluttered in my chest, I hadn't really spent any time alone with Edward since we met, so I was feeling nervous at the thought of one on one interaction with him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out" he said.

"Sure" I replied enthusiastically. "Did you have anything in mind?" I asked him.

"Not really but maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" he shrugged.

"That sounds good" I said earnestly, "Let me just grab my bag and lock up."

I ran upstairs to grab my purse pausing to check my appearance in the mirror above my dresser. I looked presentable, maybe I should put on just a little more makeup I mused, and then I paused. What was I doing? This wasn't a date, just two friends grabbing lunch. I hurried down the stairs and met Edward by the front door.

"Let's go" I told him.

"Great, shall I drive?" he asked.

"Sure" I replied, we walked next door to his house. Edward drove a silver Volvo, it was his pride and joy, boys and their cars I thought, it was ridiculous. He unlocked the car and held the door open for me.

We pulled up outside a cute cafe and headed inside. We studied our menus and told the waitress our order.

"How are you finding Seattle?" Edward asked, "Do you miss Phoenix?"

I stared at him thinking about my answer. "I love it here" I replied honestly, "I miss certain things about Phoenix, the sun, the blistering heat, the desert, my friends Chelsea and Tara. I miss my Renee and Phil, but they are in Florida now. I think she is the thing I miss most about Phoenix" I explained, "We are very close, she is always the one person I can go to about anything. She's my best friend"

Edward looked thoughtful, "Do you think you would ever move back there? Or to Florida to be closer to her?" he asked.

I thought for a moment before answering "Honestly, no I wouldn't" I told him truthfully, "I'd like to go back for a visit later in year but no, I wouldn't move back. As for Florida, I would love to visit them".

Edward smiled at me, "Where did you grow up?" I asked him.

"Believe it or not Port Angeles" he replied.

"Really?" I asked astonished.

"Yeah" he laughed, "When I found out that you and the girls had lived in Forks I was a little shocked we had never all run into each other" he told me.

I nodded in agreement, "Do your parents still live there?" I asked.

"They do, my father Carlisle is the Chief of Surgery at Olympic Memorial Hospital and my mother Esme is an interior designer" he answered.

"Did your father ever work at the hospital in Forks?" I asked curiously.

"He did actually when they were understaffed or needed him to oversee a surgery, why's that?" he asked me.

I laughed, "I spent a lot of time in that hospital over the years, I was and still am a total clutz" he laughed "I was on a first name basis with most of the staff. I think I remember your father"

Edward laughed again "I'll mention you when I next talk to him" he told me. "How often did you end up in hospital?" he asked.

"Every other week, most were minor injuries, some a little more serious" I replied.

To steer the conversation away from myself I asked Edward more about his family.

"Emmett is my only sibling" he told me "But Jasper was like another brother to us, we grew up together. He's my Mom's sister's son". Edward was the youngest, he twenty one already, Jasper was older by a few months and Emmett was the eldest by a little over a year making him twenty two, "Leah and Seth are your step siblings right?" he asked me, I was shocked he remembered their names.

"Yes" I told him, "Leah is twenty one a little older than me and Seth is nineteen".

Our food arrived halting our conversation a little; after we had eaten we went for a walk down the water front chatting easily.

Neither of us had realised how late it had gotten until Alice text me and asked me where I was because it was time to start getting ready for the party. It was so easy to spend time with Edward; we had a lot in common I mused. I didn't want to admit to myself how I really felt about Edward; he only wanted friendship I kept telling myself.

As we got ready for Tyler's party Alice and Rose grilled me about my day out with Edward, there was nothing to tell I told them repeatedly and besides I had just gotten out of a relationship that had ended badly, I needed some time.

Alice couldn't decide what to wear holding up different tops on their hangers in front of the mirror before deciding on a one shoulder plum coloured top, that cinched in under the bust and then flowed in ruffles. She had paired this with tight black jeans and super high heels.

Rose looked amazing in a high necked white sleeveless top with black beading around the neckline and a tight black skirt with black heels.

I was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans and gold sequinned top **(A/N think Kristen Stewarts People's Choice Awards dress) **with matching gold heels. Rose had slightly curled my hair and pinned a few bits back off my face.

Alice put the cap back on her mascara wand looking at herself in the mirror, "Ready!" she announced.

When we arrived at Tyler's address the party was in full swing.

Mike greeted us at the door. "Hey!" he exclaimed letting us in, "Isabella Swan is that you?" he asked shocked.

"Hey Mike" I answered.

"Wow I haven't seen you since graduation!" he said excitedly, "How are you!"

"I'm good, I just moved back here a few weeks ago" I replied.

"Yo it's Bella Swan" interrupted Tyler, "How have you been girl!" he asked putting his arm around me.

Mike looked jealous, great I thought, it looks like his crush on me hadn't faded over the years, "Hey Eric, Ben, Angela!" Tyler shouted "Look who it is!"

"Bella!" cried Angela hugging me "It's so good to see you! Alice said you were moving here"

"Hey Ange! It's great to see you too" I said, I had missed Angela; she was so easy to get along with.

I greeted the rest of the gang and headed to the kitchen with Rose to get a drink. Drinks in hand we made our way back to the rest of our group. Emmett and Jasper were talking animatedly with Tyler, while Alice was chatting to Eric. I went and stood next to Edward who was casually leaning against the wall and began chatting easily, carrying on our conversation from this afternoon.

It wasn't long before we were interrupted by a sneering voice.

"Well well well if it isn't Isabella Swan" I looked up already knowing who that nasally voice belonged to.

"Hi Lauren" I replied with a grimace, she looked the same as she had back in school, long bleached blonde hair, too much make up and clothes that were too tight and revealing. It looked like luck wasn't on my side tonight.

"Hi Edward!" she purred

"Lauren" he nodded.

She turned to sneer at me again looking me up and down, "What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly, I was right, she still hated me and apparently over the years it had intensified.

"I was invited" I replied calmly.

She looked at me disgusted before turning away and flouncing off.

"Whoa!" Edward exclaimed "What the hell was her problem?" he asked me.

"She's always hated me" I replied, "Ever since I set foot in Forks High, I have no idea why."

I really didn't, mind you she didn't much like Alice or Rose either I thought.

"She likes you" I said gauging Edward's reaction, maybe they had dated or something, she seemed pretty excited to see him.

He grimaced, "The feeling isn't mutual, never has been and it never will" he told me. I was secretly pleased and relieved; I tried not to let it show too much.

I tried to avoid Lauren for the rest of the night since I hated confrontation unless it was absolutely necessary. However I was unsuccessful, on my way to the kitchen to grab another drink for Edward and myself Lauren ambushed me accompanied by Jessica.

Jess and I had been sometimes friends back in high school when she wasn't hanging around with Lauren that is. Lauren stood in front of me with her hands on her hips, I looked at her warily.

"I want you to stay away from Edward" she sneered pointing her finger at me, "He is mine, I saw him first and besides he wouldn't ever go for someone like you" she added.

That last part shocked me. Either Edward had lied, perhaps out of embarrassment or Lauren was deluded.

Since Edward had been pretty sincere when he told me that he wasn't at all interested in Lauren and the fact that he didn't seem the type to lie I figured that my second theory was the most plausible.

Lauren had always been delusional, this wasn't the first time she had tried to claim that a guy liked her when it was far from the truth. She had been jealous of my friendship with Jacob Black back in Forks; we spent a lot of time together and had known each other since before we could walk.

Our fathers were best friends and fishing buddies. Jacob was tall, tanned and good looking, of Quileute descent. All Lauren looked for in a man was looks so she set her sights on Jake, it didn't sit well with her that I spent a lot of time with him so she decided to try and break up our friendship by throwing herself at him and feeding me lies of what Jacob 'really thought about me'.

When Jacob figured out what she was up to he told her to take a hike in so many words, ever since then Lauren's hate for me had not only intensified but she had apparently declared war on me, this time I wasn't so naive.

"Really?" I asked her, I glanced at Jessica; she wouldn't meet my eyes and was staring at the floor as though it was the most interesting thing she had seen all day.

Lauren nodded flicking her hair.

"I didn't know you two were an item" I replied feigning ignorance, I was the world's worst actor but luckily for me Lauren still was thicker than two planks of wood because she bought it.

"Yeah, we are" she told me looking smug, "Edward is so like amazing in every way imaginable" she added suggestively.

I looked at her disgusted but just as I opened my mouth to reply we were interrupted by the sound of Rose's laughter.

"Holy shit Lauren!" she exclaimed walking into the room, apparently she had overheard our whole exchange "Edward wouldn't come near you with a ten foot pole and you know it!"

Lauren looked furious, "What would you know Hale!" she shrieked.

Rosalie laughed "Did you forget I'm dating Edward's brother?" she asked as thought she was speaking to a two year old.

This infuriated Lauren even more "I have no idea what Emmett sees in you, I could satisfy him in a way you never could" she retorted.

Rosalie was no longer laughing, Lauren had crossed the line "Look you bitch" spat Rosalie walking closer to Lauren, "Stay away from me and my friends. If I hear you have been hassling Bella again you will regret it".

Fear flashed in Lauren's eyes, she huffed and stormed off with Jessica trailing behind her.

Rosalie put her arm around me, "She is unbelievable!" she said.

I laughed, "Seriously Bella, don't let her get to you. She is just jealous and always has been"

"Jealous? Of what?"

"You of course!" Rose replied leading me back to where the rest of the group stood.

I felt bewildered, I was certain Lauren wasn't jealous of me. I put it down to a case of sour grapes, Edward had obviously turned her down and seeing me talking to him must have set her off.

I was lost in my own thoughts as Rosalie told everyone what had happened.

Of course they were all outraged, I definitely wouldn't want to be Lauren right now Alice could be scary when she was angry. We stayed for a while longer with Lauren was glaring at me from across the room before I had finally had enough of the drama and said I was thinking of heading home.

Since we had had such a big night the night before they all readily agreed to head home early with promises from Mike and the gang that they would see us next weekend at my party.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Sorry for the lack of updates lately. You may have seen on the news that my hometown Christchurch, New Zealand was hit by a devastating earthquake last week. We had no power for a week and I have been unable to update my story. Thankfully we now have power, yay! But updates may be less frequent at the moment. My thoughts are with all of my fellow Cantabrians who lost loved ones last Tuesday.**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight not me!**

**Chapter Songs: The Violet Hour - Sea Wolf, Party in the U.S.A - Miley Cyrus**

Before I knew it the weekend was over and my birthday had arrived.

I headed downstairs to find everyone already up and Jasper cooking breakfast

"Happy birthday Bella!" they cried.

"Thanks guys!" I answered smiling.

We sat down to eat and Alice announced I had to open presents first.

Rosalie gave me a necklace of my name in fancy script and some freesia scented bath products, my favourite.

From Alice I got a designer handbag and a huge photo frame with photos of the three of us dating back as far as high school, as well as some new ones of the six of us.

Jasper gave me some books I had been looking at buying, Emmett some gift cards for my Ipod and a t-shirt with a picture of himself and I heart Emmett on it, we all laughed when I opened that one and Emmett made me promise to wear it. I assured him I would.

Edward handed me his gift last, I was intrigued by the small flat box he handed me. I ripped off the ribbon and the paper and lifted the lid picking up the piece of paper inside.

"You got me a ticket to Florida, flying first class?" I gasped.

He grinned at me, "The other day you were saying how much you missed your Mom so I thought maybe you would want to go and visit her" he replied, "I hope you like it" he said nervously his grin vanishing as he saw I was still staring at him in shock.

I threw myself at him, with a huge smile on my face. "Oh Edward!" I cried into his neck, "It's perfect, thank you!"

He chuckled, "Your welcome Bella."

The rest of my day was great, Renee and Phil called me to wish me a happy birthday, with Renee saying how much she wished she could be there and asking me if I liked the sapphire earrings they sent me along with other assorted gifts.

Charlie and Sue also called with birthday greetings and said that they would see me on Saturday for the party and I got calls and messages from the rest of my friends and family throughout the day finished with the six of us heading out for dinner to the best Italian restaurant I had ever been to.

All in all I decided it was the best birthday I had had in a long time.

Saturday rolled around faster than I had expected. I still didn't know what my big surprise was; Alice still wasn't giving me any clues.

I did attempt to trick Emmett into telling me but even he wasn't budging.

I lay in bed a little longer than I usually would, knowing that today would be hectic. Eventually I dragged myself out of bed and to the shower.

When I was ready I headed down stairs and was surprised to find that everyone else was already up. Alice was sitting at the head of the table with a clipboard frantically scribbling things down. Edward caught my gaze and rolled his eyes, I suppressed a giggle. Alice liked to be organised and took party planning very seriously, we had learnt that it was safest to do whatever job she asked you to no matter how ridiculous.

I sat down grabbing a bowl and pouring myself some cereal. "What can I do to help?" I asked Alice, she looked at me as though I was crazy.

"Silly Bella! Nothing at all, this is your party! We have it all taken care of" she told me smiling.

Emmett groaned and Alice shot him a look silencing him quickly.

Poor Emmett I thought, no doubt he would be running all over town today frantically trying to complete all the tasks he had been set.

After eating Alice stood up and told the table "Right team, you all know your jobs. Lets do this"

Emmett saluted her and yelled "Sir, yes sir."

We all laughed, even Alice had to suppress a smile. They all headed off to their cars and I was left sitting at the table with Edward, "I'm guessing you're supposed to take me out today so Alice can finish organising my surprise?" I asked him.

He touched his nose and said "Correct, Let's go"

_Later that day_

Finally Alice had given us the okay to return home and get ready for tonight. But she had given me strict instructions to come straight home and not set foot in the boys place, I figured she must be hiding my surprise there and contemplated going and taking a peek. I decided not to since Alice and Rose had gone to so much trouble to keep it a secret from me.

We got ready together excitedly talking about the party. Rose and Alice had decided that cocktail wear was essential so Alice was wearing a metallic bronze dress with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps and matching heels. She had braided her hair across the front so it looked like a headband and Rose had on a black all over beaded and sequinned dress with a V strap and a scalloped hemline and had pulled her long hair into an up do. They both looked amazing.

Rose announced she was finished with my hair and that I was now allowed to look in the mirror.

The person staring back at me was beautiful, that couldn't be me I thought examining myself more closely.

I was wearing a midnight blue dress, strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a ruffled skirt and strappy black heels. Rose had left my hair out and flowing in gentle waves. I thanked them and Alice said we should head downstairs for part one of my surprise.

We entered the living room to find Charlie, Sue, Seth and Leah standing with Edward, Emmett and Jasper, who all looked great in dress shirts and pants. Especially Edward, I struggled to keep my mouth from falling open and drooling.

"Happy birthday Bella" said Charlie enveloping me in a hug.

"Thanks Dad, I'm glad you could be here" he kissed the top of my head and I turned to greet the rest of my family.

"Okay Bella!" said Alice raising her voice "Are you ready for part one of your surprise?" I nodded enthusiastically.

Alice nodded at Rose who slipped out of the room returning quickly followed by Renee and Phil!

"Mom!" I cried running over to hug her.

"Happy birthday honey!" she replied.

"Happy birthday Bells" Phil said giving me a one armed hug.

"Do you like your surprise?" Renee asked.

"Very much, thank you!" I told the group.

"We better get going" Jasper announced "Our ride is here" he informed us.

We headed outside to find a stretch limo big enough to fit all of us, organised for me by Emmett and Edward. Tonight was shaping up to be one of the best nights of my life!

Alice had hired a room at a function centre as the party venue it was elaborately decorated in true Alice Brandon style. She has gone for a blue and silver theme, and had decorated the place like a night club complete with a light up dance floor.

It was small just as she had promised with all my closest friends and family in attendance. I made my way around the room greeting old friends, delighted they all came.

Mike, Tyler, Eric, Ben and Angela were by the drinks table along with a few other people I went to school with, Alice's parents and her sister Cynthia and Rose's parents and her brother Henry had also made the trip from Forks to be here. As I was taking it all in someone tackled me and spun me around in the air.

"Bella! How have you been? Happy birthday!" exclaimed a husky voice I would know anywhere.

"Jake!" I cried once he set me down grinning at him.

"Bells Dad and the rest of the gang are here, come say hi!" he said pulling me across the room where Billy Black, Paul, Jared and Kim, Sam and Emily, Quil and Embry were.

"You all came!" I exclaimed hugging each one in turn.

"Of course!" Paul replied, "How could we miss you turning the big two one!"

I was so overwhelmed by all the attention I didn't hear Alice calling for me, "Bella!" she shouted making her way towards me "Part two of your surprise is waiting!"

My second surprise was Chelsea and Tara, I was thrilled! All of my family and friends were here to celebrate with me, and I couldn't have been happier.

I spent a while catching up with the girls and filling them in on how I was settling in.

After food, drinks and dancing I was led to a table covered in gifts to open.

The best gift was from Charlie, he and Sue found a sapphire and diamond hairpin of Grandma Swan's when clearing out some of her things and had it made into a ring engraved with my birth date and the number twenty one. I cried when I put it on and thanked them profusely.

The rest of the evening was a blast. As we headed home later on I thought of how lucky I was to have such an amazing group of friends.

A week later we were all sitting in the boy's living room while they played Xbox.

It was the day before the new semester started, which would be my first semester at the University of Washington.

To my surprise I was actually looking forward to it, normally I felt a little depressed at the thought of the summer break coming to an end but I had a feeling this semester was going to be a lot different to the last.

We girls were chatting about the week ahead while watching the boys play Halo. They took the game very seriously and were incredibly competitive. Emmett was losing and in his frustration was yelling obscene words at his character on the screen while Jasper and Edward ganged up on him and shot his character repeatedly laughing.

I shook my head; only boys could get so worked up over a video game. I went back to checking my timetable and book lists for the week making sure I had everything I needed, on Friday we had all gone to campus to collect my orientation information and other paperwork we needed.

Rosalie and Alice had their first class at then same time as me tomorrow and had said we would all drive together in the morning. I was grateful, knowing my luck I would get lost on the way there and end up on the other side of town; it wouldn't be the first time that had happened either. I could get lost in the most helpful of surroundings.

The last time I had gotten lost Alice and Rose had teased me about it for weeks, and sometimes they still did. I glanced down at my course description for one of my third year English classes and was pleased to see that the authors we were covering this year were come of my favourites and that I had already read some of their works.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by Emmett yelling "Suck on that Jasper!"

I looked up to see Emmett doing a victory dance in his seat while Jasper looked at him venomously.

"That was blatant cheating Emmett!" he roared "Edward did you see what he did? I was about to kill him and he used a cheat code to escape!"

I watched the game carry on amused by Jasper's sudden outburst; he was usually rather reserved unless he had been drinking. "Ha!" he yelled cornering Emmett's character "Revenge is sweet my friend!"

"Who's the cheater now?" huffed Emmett.

"The last time they got into a fight over Halo they wouldn't talk to each other for a week" Rosalie whispered as we watched the scene unfold.

Edward put down his controller and with a smirk on his face watched Jasper and Emmett who were now only shooting each other.

"Yessssss!" cried Jasper as he succeeding in his mission to destroy Emmett's player.

Emmett threw down his controller in frustration. He must have used a little more force than necessary because it proceeded to bounce off the sofa and hit Jasper in the middle of his forehead.

"Ow shit Emmett!" he cried, a red lump already appearing on his forehead.

We all cracked up laughing; tears were rolling down my face. "We should have filmed that! That was totally an America's Funniest Home Video's moment!" Emmett exclaimed.

In the morning I got up early, unable to sleep. It was overcast but not raining so I pulled on my running clothes, grabbed my Ipod and headed out.

Running was one of the only physical activities that I managed to participate in without doing myself a serious injury. When I first started I used to fall over, a lot. But over the past few years the more I ran the better I became and now I rather enjoyed it.

As I ran down the still quiet streets I thought of the events of the past few weeks.

Much to my irritation I found myself thinking about my run in with Lauren, as much as I wanted to not let her get to me, what she had said to me at the party had really gotten under my skin. I wasn't sure why it was bothering me, in the past I was able to ignore her snide remarks but this time was different. I tried to pinpoint what it was that she had said that annoyed me the most but I was unsuccessful.

I returned home and got in the shower feeling frustrated. The familiar smell of my strawberry shampoo helped me feel a little calmer. After dressing I headed downstairs, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed off for my first day at UW.

I paid close attention to the streets Rosalie took on our way to campus determined to remember them for tomorrow when I would drive myself. Luckily for me Rose took mostly main roads on the way there, I felt confident that I wouldn't get lost tomorrow.

Angela who was also majoring in English met us in the car park and walked with me to our first class, it was relatively small but we still managed to get a seat together.

The morning went quickly and I was easily able to navigate my way between classes with Ange's help. We walked to the cafeteria together chatting comfortably; we spotted Alice, Rose, Edward and Jasper easily and joined them after grabbing some lunch.

"How was your morning Bells" Rose asked before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Good, classes were fairly easy this morning and I didn't get lost once" I replied feeling proud of myself.

After lunch I headed off to English Literature with Jasper who was taking a few English classes this year.

The lecture was basic, just an introduction on what we would be covering this semester and important exam dates. Once class was over Jasper pointed me in the direction of my next lecture and I headed off.

As I was walking I noticed a blonde girl with a gaggle of look-alike friends glaring daggers at me, what the hell is her problem I don't even know who she is! I snuck a second glance at her and realisation washed over me.

Tanya, Edwards ex, it had to be. I had only seen her from a distance at Alex's party but I was certain it was her. I carried on walking uncomfortable as I could feel her stare on my back. I had no idea why she had looked at me the way she had but I was certain of one thing, that wouldn't be the last I would see of Tanya.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Thanks to all my reviewers, please keep reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, SM does, sigh**

**Chapter songs: I Caught Myself – Paramore, Let's Get Lost – Bat for Lashes and Beck**

It turned out my suspicions were correct, over the next few weeks Tanya seemed to be everywhere I went around campus.

One afternoon I was headed to the library with Edward as we both had a study period when Tanya intercepted us.

I had been dreading this moment since I had told Rose and Alice about my first encounter with her on my first day at UW.

They were less than complimentary when they filled me in on what she was like when she was dating Edward and how their relationship ended. It transpired that they had a fairly nasty break up well over a year ago when Edward caught her in bed with someone else, he dumped her immediately and in revenge she made his life a living hell.

She was manipulative, high maintenance and incredibly fake Rose told me, she sounded like Lauren's long lost sister and was exactly the kind of person I tried to avoid.

"Hi Eddie" she purred before turning to glare at me.

"Hello Tanya" he replied warily "And it's Edward" he added.

I glanced at him quickly trying to read his facial expression. He didn't look at all pleased to see her.

She giggled, "And who is this?" she asked waving in my direction, her distaste was written all over her face "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Edward sighed "This is Bella, Bella meet Tanya"

"Hi Bella" she said in a high pitched tone "I haven't seen you around much you must be new"

I didn't like the glint in her eyes as she looked me up and down, I swallowed nervously "Yeah I just moved here a few months ago actually"

"Have you been showing her around Edward? That's so nice of you" she said batting her eyelashes at him.

I looked at her trying to figure out what Edward had ever seen in her, she was a total bitch.

"You know if you want I could get someone else to show her around, it must be really bothering you having her follow you around" she told him not even bothering to lower her tone, I couldn't believe the nerve of her!

I watched Edward anxiously to try and read his facial expression as he answered her question.

"Actually Tanya, Bella is a really good friend of mine" he said venomously, I had never seen him look so angry. "So if you don't mind as fun as this has been we must be going" Edward put his hand on my back and led me away, the small gesture sent a thrill through me.

"I am so sorry Bella, she has no right to speak to you like that!" he apologised.

"Edward it's okay, don't worry about it" I sighed

"No Bella it's not okay, she thinks that because she can't have me no girl can spend time with me" he said angrily.

"Really it's fine" I replied. He gave me a sad look that I couldn't quite read.

Later that evening I was sitting in our living room watching TV, well pretending to, really I was thinking about Edward and what had happened earlier in the day, while Rose painted her nails and Alice flicked through a magazine.

"You know it's almost Halloween" Rose said inspecting her newly painted nails.

"Oooo!" squealed Alice excitedly "We should definitely start figuring out what costumes we are going to wear!"

I looked away from the TV, "We all got invites to Riley's party" Rose told me.

"Who's Riley?" I asked confused.

"Oh he is a friend of Alex's" Alice informed me, "He decided this year that he was going to throw a massive party at his parents place since they will be out of town, it'll be amazing!" she exclaimed grabbing her laptop and powering it up "Let's figure out what we are going to wear!"

We spent the next hour searching for costumes, after a few disagreements we had finally narrowed our options down.

After much debate Rose and Alice had made their picks and decided that on Saturday we would head to the costume store in town to try and find a costume for me.

"Hello ladies!" yelled Emmett.

"Living room" Rose shouted in reply, Emmett followed by Edward and Jasper came in and settled themselves on the sofa.

"So Edward told us about what happened with Tanya today" stated Emmett "For the record don't listen to a word that jealous..."

He was interrupted by Rose "What happened? Why didn't you tell us Bella?" she demanded.

I groaned "I didn't say anything because it really isn't that big of a deal" I sighed; I sensed that my side of the argument wasn't going to hold up so I caved. "She was just a little rude to me today when she bumped into me and Edward, really it's nothing"

Edward chose that moment to jump in and fill them in on the details I had failed to provide enraging the rest of the group.

"How dare that little bitch!" Rose exclaimed.

"She really needs to be put in her place" added Alice.

"Don't worry Bella, we'll sort all of this out at Riley's party" Rose reassured me with a gleam in her eyes, "She'll be there since she's never one to turn down the chance to get drunk and dress like a total tramp" she added "And we are going to make sure you look totally hot!"

"Rosalie Lillian Hale there is no way in hell I am going out in public dressed like this!" I argued gesturing at the outfit they had forced me to try on, it was Saturday and we were trying to find a Halloween costume for me to wear to the party in downtown Seattle.

Alice, who had returned from combing the store for more costumes for me to try, exclaimed "Bella! You look so cute!"

Rose nodded in agreement "Totally smoking, Edward is going to be drooling!"

I looked up in shock "Why, what?" I spluttered panicking; lately I had been struggling to get Edward off my mind. I figured I couldn't keep pretending that I had no feelings for him for much longer.

Alice giggled, "Honey, can't you see the way that boy looks at you? He's definitely got a major crush!"

I frowned, what the hell were they talking about, I never noticed him looking at me like that and I certainly wasn't blind. Besides what would he see in a girl like me!

Rose sighed "Bella Bella Bella, how can we make you see!"

"There's nothing to see and in any case, I am not wearing this" I said changing the subject.

"Fine, lets add sexy nurse to the no pile then" Alice agreed defeated, "Are there any costumes in that dressing room you'd wear?" she asked looking worried.

I thought for a moment, "Maybe one..." I trailed off disappearing behind the curtain.

I picked up the hanger, at a push I suppose I could wear this I mused holding up the costume on the hanger and holding it against myself.

A few minutes later Rosalie was getting impatient "Bella can we see? Please?" she begged.

I pulled back the curtain and stepped out. "Perfect!" Alice said happily "You look amazing!" I turned to look in the mirror; I guess I did look quite good once I could get over the initial shock that the skirt was a little shorter than I would normally go for.

"You look hot!" added Rose sharing a knowing look with Alice.

The lead up to Halloween was busy, I had multiple assignments due and as a result I was not only spending a lot of time tucked in a corner of the library typing away madly for hours but my stress levels were through the roof, I was running on little sleep and unhealthy amounts of caffeine.

It was Friday, the day of Riley's Halloween party. I had a 5:00pm deadline for my English paper and I was hyper aware that I needed to finish it as early as possible so I could head home to get ready. I had skipped lunch to buy myself extra time and was stuck on my next point.

I ran my hand through my hair frustrated.

"Hey" exclaimed a soft musical voice, one that I would know anywhere, I looked up to see Edward pulling up a chair beside me. "You weren't at lunch and Alice said you were in here trying to finish your assignment. I bought you some" he said smiling holding up a paper bag.

"Thanks" I said smiling, "But you didn't have to do that" I scolded.

"I wanted to Bella" he assured me, "What are you working on?"

I filled him in on my assignment, a paper on Emily Bronte's work; I was worried I was boring him until he started talking animatedly about what he thought of her work. I was impressed and thrilled; most men wouldn't even know who she was.

With Edward's help I managed to finish my paper with plenty of time to spare but since I had gotten a ride this morning with Alice I would have to wait around for another few hours until she was finished with classes for the day, I sighed internally.

"Have you got anymore classes today?" asked Edward walking with me to the English block to hand in my paper.

"Nope, but I'm just going to hang around here a while and wait for Alice so I don't have to walk home" I explained.

Edward looked thoughtful "Listen, I don't have any classes either, I could give you a lift" he offered, I bit my lip, I didn't want him to feel like he had to give me a ride home, he must have read my face well and smiled "I really don't mind" he assured me.

We reached Edward's car and he opened the door for me, closing it softly behind me.

I watched him walk around to the driver's side; he really is incredibly sexy I thought as I began to day dream. I had to force myself to stop, it was all very well to day dream about him when he wasn't around, and besides I really needed to pull myself together.

Edward started the car and drove the familiar route home, I looked at the clock 2:00pm it read. Wow I really did have a lot of time to spare this afternoon, Alice had given me strict instructions that we needed to start getting ready for the party no later than 5:00pm since it started at 8:00pm.

"Have you got much planned for your afternoon off?" he asked.

"No not really, Alice doesn't need me for Bella Barbie for a couple of hours" I replied.

"Well maybe we could hang out?" he asked, I could hear the hopefulness in his voice, I thrilled at the chance to spend some more time with him.

"I'd like that" I told him smiling. His answering smile was brilliant, it dazzled me and I almost forgot to breathe.

We pulled up our shared driveway and into the boy's garage. I followed Edward into their house, "What would you like to do?" he asked me smiling, he had to stop doing that! Especially if he was going to ask me questions like that.

"Ummm" I replied, real smooth Bella, that's all you could come up with? I asked myself.

"Listen to music, watch a DVD?" he asked.

"Whatever you like" I told him.

"Follow me" he said gesturing for me to head upstairs. "This is my room" he announced when we reached the master bedroom door.

I had never seen Edward's room before; I was curious and a little nervous.

"Wow" I said looking around. His room was amazing, he had so many CD's and DVD's, his bed was huge, black wrought iron with a gold comforter and there was a guitar on a stand in the corner of the room. I whirled around trying to take it all in.

"You have so much music and movies" I said stating the obvious.

He chuckled, "I like to collect both and this is just part of my collection. The rest I had to leave at home" he told me.

"And you play?" I asked gesturing to his guitar.

"Yes, I do and the piano but that kind of wouldn't fit in here. I have a grand piano, also at home" he replied.

I looked at him impressed "You will have to play for me sometime?" I said, my statement sounded more like a question.

"I'd love to" he said earnestly. "Why don't you pick a movie and I'll put it on" he suggested, I went over to his movie shelf and stared at it trying to find something to watch, there were so many I felt overwhelmed. He came and stood next to me, my heart began to splutter at him being so close.

"I can't decide" I said, he grabbed one off the shelf.

"You'll like this" he said, it was a thriller "Make yourself comfortable" I looked to where he was pointing, did he mean his bed or the couch? I wasn't sure and I didn't want to make a fool of myself. Besides, I wasn't sure that if I sat on his bed I would be able to control myself.

He chuckled again and sat on his bed, with his back against the head board, he patted the comforter "Come on" he said smiling.

My heart soared as I settled in next to him; he was so close, sitting right beside me. His arm was rubbing against mine; I tried desperately to stop my heart from beating erratically and to keep my breathing in check.

As we watched the movie I was hyper aware of our closeness, at one point during a scarier part of the movie he grabbed my hand, obviously he had been able to tell that I was a little freaked out.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I felt when his skin touched mine, it was like a jolt of electricity, a spark.

I looked at him to see if he had noticed it to, he had and his mouth was slightly agape. Then he smiled at me dazzling me again.

He didn't let go of my hand until the movie was finished. He glanced at the clock and said I should probably head home to get ready or face Alice's wrath, I laughed agreeing. He walked me home, and as he said he would see me soon, as we were all heading to the party together, he looked sad that we were parting, even for a little while.

Suddenly I came to the realisation, as I watched him walk away that I couldn't deny my feelings any longer; I was falling for Edward Cullen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Hope you are all enjoying the story so far, review and tell me what you think. Also let me know if there is anything you would like to see happen to any of the characters in my story.**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, not me!**

**Chapter songs: Vampires – The Dukes, Uprising - Muse**

"There you are!" Alice exclaimed as I walked into her bedroom which she had set it up like a beauty salon, "So Edward gave you a ride home huh?" she said smiling.

"Ummm yeah" I mumbled.

"And?" she prompted.

"We hung out at his place" I answered sensing a Spanish inquisition.

"Details, now" ordered Rosalie.

"We watched a DVD" I replied, they looked disappointed, so I decided to let them hear the juicy part they so desperately had been waiting for, "It was quite good, some new thriller" I added drawing it out, they were staring at me waiting "In his room"

Alice gasped.

"On his bed, but nothing happened" I added timidly.

They both looked at me with huge grins on their faces, "It's a start Isabella, it's a start" said Rose nodding.

I grinned, Alice was staring at me scrutinising me, "Be-lla" she said slowly, "Ho-ly crap you like him don't you!" she exclaimed excitedly, of course I blushed giving myself away.

"So when did you finally admit it to yourself?" asked Rose smiling.

"Just today" I said truthfully, I filled them in on what happened when he grabbed my hand getting a few squeals from Alice.

"Aren't you glad you got a hot costume now?" she asked.

I laughed, "You will totally knock his socks off" added Rose, "I cannot wait to see Tanya's face" she said gleefully.

After showering, make up was first on the agenda, followed by hair then we put on our costumes.

After taking a few photos of each other we headed downstairs for a drink while we waited for the boys. I was starting to feel nervous at the thought of Edward seeing my costume. I didn't have long to dwell on it, as soon as Rosalie had poured our cocktails they walked in.

Emmett was wearing a pilot's hat and suit complete with pilot's wings, and Rosalie was wearing an air hostess uniform, which was short, aqua blue dress and hat. They looked amazing together.

Alice and Jasper had gone for a gangster suit and bowler hat for Jasper and a black, beaded flapper dress for Alice. She had gone all out with her hair, which was in waves, jewellery, pearls and makeup, immaculate with red lipstick.

I turned my attention to Edward, who was looking me up and down in with his mouth open.

"We match" he said grinning widely.

I smiled realising that Alice must have had something to do with that.

Edward was wearing a vampire costume, he looked incredibly sexy. He was wearing black dress pants, a white shirt with a fitted burgundy red vest and a black cape, complete with vampire teeth.

While I was wearing a corset style dress, with a red laces up the front. The skirt was layered and short with these amazing red fibre optic lights. I also had on knee high black boots and a matching dark red cape. My hair was down and slightly curled and I was wearing vampire teeth like Edward, although I doubted I would wear them all evening.

Emmett whistled "Nice Bella! Looking good!" I blushed.

"Thanks Em, you guys all look amazing!" I added.

"Group photos" announced Alice.

After photos we headed out to the waiting taxi, Rose put her arm around me and whispered "He was practically drooling Bella! You look damn hot!" I laughed and wrapped my arm around her as we walked to the taxi.

The taxi ride was uneventful and soon we were pulling up at Riley's party, the decorations were impressive, fairy lights and scary Halloween decorations everywhere.

We jumped out of the taxi and headed inside which was equally as impressive as the outside. Immediately we made our way to the bar and each grabbed a drink. Edward didn't leave my side and I was thrilled. He stood close to me and we looked around at all the other costumes, whispering and laughing at some of the worst of the bunch.

A guy dressed up as a fireman and another dressed as an FBI agent made their way over. "Hey! Glad you could all make it, love the costumes!" said the fireman.

"Looking good man!" said Emmett.

"Thanks for the invite" added Jasper.

"No problem, looking lovely as always" he said to Alice and Rosalie who smiled and thanked him.

I figured this must be Riley, "Edward! Love it" he said gesturing at his costume, Edward laughed "And who is this?" he asked smiling at me.

"Riley, this is Bella, Bella this is Riley" Edward said.

"Nice to meet you Bella" he said earnestly, "I've heard a lot about you! How's Seattle treating you?" he asked me.

"You too, good, I really like it here" I replied, Riley seemed really nice.

"Oh and Bella this is James" he said introducing me to his FBI friend, I looked at James who was staring at me and making me feel incredibly uncomfortable, Edward must have noticed, he narrowed his eyes at James and put his arm around me.

"It's a pleasure Bella" drawled James "I'll come and find you later for a dance" he added winking.

A shiver went down my spine, he was definitely creepy.

"Yuck, he is so gross" said Alice when they had walked away, nodding in agreement Rose added "Watch out for him Bells, he is a total sleaze bag. He will take any opportunity to make a move on you"

"And if he tries his face will meet my fist" Emmett said "I have been waiting for the opportunity to get that slimy bastard for years"

I looked at the group worriedly, 'Don't worry Bella, I'll keep you safe" Edward told me.

I had all but forgotten about James an hour and a lot of drinks later. We were all pretty drunk and had been rather enjoying looking at some of the guests costumes.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Jasper who was obviously drunk as his loud alter ego had appeared, "A giant hot dog!"

We looked in the direction he was looking in and saw a man awkwardly trying to make his way through the crowd in a hot dog costume. We all burst into laughter as he kept hitting his hot dog end into people as he turned.

"Great, look who's arrived" said Rosalie sarcastically.

"With such original costumes too" Alice added, I looked towards the door and saw the two people I was dreading seeing tonight walk in together giggling loudly.

Tanya was dressed as a trashy looking nurse; I was glad I had talked Alice out of making me go as the same thing and Lauren who was dressed as a playboy bunny.

"They're friends?" I asked grimacing; bumping into them tonight was going to be far worse than I thought.

"Oh yes, BFF"S" chanted Jasper in a high pitched voice making me laugh.

I looked away hoping they wouldn't spot us, "Let's go get another drink Bella" said Edward leading me away, I went gratefully.

Edward got me a strong drink that I gulped down so quickly I barely had time to taste it. "Bella, hey slow down" Edward said softly, I looked up at him wincing "Don't worry about those two" he reassured me.

"You're right" I said sighing. "Come on let's grab another drink and head back to the group so I can face those two head on." I said with new found confidence, there was no way I was going to let those to tramps get one over on me.

As we made our way back to the group Tanya and Lauren must have noticed us and started making their way over too. "Oh joy" said Rosalie sarcastically.

They walked up to us in what they obviously thought was a sexy manner but they both looked ridiculous, Jasper and Rosalie began to snigger.

"Hi Edward, hi boys!" purred Tanya, Lauren just attempted to bat her eyelashes, I was struggling not to burst into laughter.

"So Edward, I just love your costume!" she continued, still none of us said anything, but that didn't stop them, "And Emmett and Jasper, you both look great too" she said in a seductive tone. Ha if she carried on like this Rose would take care of her, "Oh and hi girls" she sneered.

"What are you all supposed to be?" added Lauren.

Edward jumped in and told them before Rosalie could get a word in, which was probably a good idea.

"Oh I see now!" said Lauren in an amazed tone, "Your costumes are actually kind of cool" that earned a deathly glare from Tanya.

Poor Lauren, she wasn't overly bright. "So what do you think of our costumes?" Lauren asked, "I bet you think they are like just amazing" she said answering the question for us and doing a little twirl.

"Yeah something like that muttered Rose, Tanya narrowed her eyes, "Edward, I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me?" she purred.

I waited anxiously to hear his answer, not many men would turn down the opportunity to dance with a scantily clad nurse, "I know you think my costume is sexy" she added posing.

"Actually Tanya, I was just about to ask Bella to dance with me" he stated, I froze, "Also I don't really find the whole nurse thing that sexy" he continued "But I do think vampire costumes are" he finished sneaking a glance at me and smiling.

I was still trying to process what he had just said, he thought my costume was sexier than Tanya's, I felt like doing a victory dance.

Tanya glared at me "Well I don't think her costume is at all sexy" she sneered, she turned to me "And I also really don't like ugly, stupid bitches like you moving in on my territory" she spat moving closer to me, oh crap, I began to panic, she is going to smack me right in the face. I am beyond useless at anything that requires co-ordination; I figure defending myself from an enraged blonde would fall into that category.

"Edward would never go for someone like you, I don't know why you would even waste your time" she continued, my heart sank, she was confirming all the doubts I had already been having about Edward returning my feelings "Maybe you should just go back to wherever it is you came from because people like Edward are just too nice to tell someone that they don't want them around. Besides look at you, you are just so plain, boring, average" she spat.

"Back off Tanya you bitch" warned a furious Rosalie, "You wouldn't want security to drag your skanky ass out of here would you? I don't think that would look good for your reputation" snarled Alice.

"Fine" she spat, "But Swan you have been warned"

Five pairs of worried eyes turned to study my face as Tanya flounced away with her minion.

"I ummm I'm just going to go get some air, alone" I spluttered and then I fled as fast as I could. I needed time to go to pieces privately.

I stumbled out into a small courtyard; there was no one else out here that was good. I found a bench and sat down with my head in my hands. She was right, she was completely right, I was plain and I was boring and Edward would never go for someone like me.

I sighed sadly; I struggled against my tears that were threatening to fall.

I heard open the door and walk into the courtyard, I looked up and it was James. I looked back down quickly, this was just great.

"I saw you walk out here alone, you look upset and I thought perhaps you had had a fight with your boyfriend" he drawled.

"My boyfriend?" I asked confused.

"Yes, that Edward" he said, I could hear the bitterness in his tone, "I thought maybe I could be the one to comfort you" he added with a grin. "Perhaps I could get you a drink and we could get to know each other" he said suggestively putting his hand on my leg, I was desperately trying to figure out an escape route.

Just then I heard the court yard door open again, "Bella" called a worried voice.

Edward! I tried to jump up but James held me back down, I gulped. Hopefully Edward would come around the corner to check; I didn't trust James and didn't want to be left alone out here with him.

"Get your hands off her" he snarled, James jumped up and glared at Edward as he passed him, as he reached the door he winked at me. "Bella, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked worried.

"No" I said in a small voice.

He sat down beside me and put his arm around me, "Bella, nothing that Tanya said is true" he said softly, "You are far from plain, did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" I just stared at him, "She is just jealous, she always has been, of girls who are prettier than her, that's why she is so horrible to you"

I highly doubted that, but I was still thrilling at the fact that he called me beautiful. "Bella" he said softly "You are far from boring, far from average, far from plain. You just don't see yourself clearly"

My heart all but stopped, he opened his mouth to say something else, but then suddenly the court yard door opened and loud, shouting voices interrupted us. "Come on" he encouraged, its cold out here, let's go back in" he put his arm around me and led me inside.

"Bella!" they all exclaimed as we reached the group.

"Honey are you okay?" asked Alice.

"I'm fine" I said, well I was fine now, after all the sweet things Edward had said to me.

"I really hate that bitch" stated Rosalie, "I have had enough of her giving you a hard time"

"You know what?" asked Edward, "I think I have been far too nice to her, there's something I should have done a long time ago. I'll be right back" he said then he disappeared off into the crowd towards Tanya.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: The first part of this chapter is in Edward's point of view; it's my first time writing his point of view, it's a summary of his thoughts and feelings the last two chapters and in particular his exchange at the Halloween party with Tanya**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Twilight, SM does**

**Chapter songs: Shooting the Moon – Ok Go, Cruel – Dane Rumble**

_Edward's point of view_

Bella hadn't shown up to have lunch with us today; Alice informed me that she was hurrying to finish an assignment before the weekend.

I had the rest of the afternoon off so I decided to pick up some lunch for her and go and find her in the library. I found her tucked in a corner, staring at her lap top running her hand through her hair.

Even when she was frustrated she was beautiful, I knew I was falling for her, I had been since the first day I saw her when she arrived in Seattle.

I walked over to her "Hey" I said softly pulling up a chair beside her, "You weren't at lunch and Alice said you were in here trying to finish your assignment. I bought you lunch" I said smiling holding up a paper bag.

"Thanks" she replied smiling, "But you didn't have to do that" she scolded.

"I wanted to Bella" I assured her, "What are you working on?" I asked.

She filled me in on the English assignment she was working on; it was a paper about the classic author Emily Bronte. I had read her work and I rather liked it which I wasn't ashamed to admit, she seemed pleased by this revelation. We discussed her paper and within no time she was finished.

"Have you got anymore classes today?" I asked her.

"Nope, but I'm just going to hang around here a while and wait for Alice so I don't have to walk home" she replied frowning.

"Listen, I don't have any classes either, I could give you a lift" I told her, I was hoping she would say yes, she bit her lip, I could tell she was debating about whether or not I really wanted to give her a lift home "I really don't mind" I assured her.

We walked together to my car, I opened the passenger side door for her and shut it softly behind her, as I walked around the car I snuck a glance at her, she was watching me. My heart soared, I hoped she felt the same, I figured I would have to tell her how I felt soon. I was driving Em and Jasper crazy and myself I thought. I saw her glancing at the clock as we drove home.

"Have you got much planned for your afternoon off?" I asked, hoping that she didn't.

"No not really, Alice doesn't need me for Bella Barbie for a couple of hours" she said smiling.

"Well maybe we could hang out?" I asked her.

"I'd like that" she replied smiling, her smile dazzled me; I grinned at her in return.

I pulled up our drive and into the garage, I led her into the house "What would you like to do?" I asked her.

"Ummm" she replied.

"Listen to music, watch a DVD?" I suggested.

"Whatever you like" she told me.

"Follow me" I said, leading her upstairs to my room, I figured perhaps we could watch a DVD, somewhere quiet.

"Wow" she breathed looking around my room, I smiled, pleased with her reaction.

"You have so much music and movies" she stated.

I chuckled "I like to collect both and this is just part of my collection. The rest I had to leave at home" I told her shrugging.

"And you play?" she asked gesturing to where my guitar stood, she sounded impressed.

"Yes, I do and the piano but that kind of wouldn't fit in here. I have a grand piano, also at home" I replied wistfully, I missed my piano and composing songs.

"You will have to play for me sometime?" she questioned.

"I'd love to" I said earnestly. "Why don't you pick a movie and I'll put it on" I added.

I watched her walk over to the shelf containing my DVD's, I almost couldn't believe she was actually in my room, I was thrilled and internally I felt like a teenage boy. I had to pull myself together, I walked over to her.

"I can't decide" she told me.

"You'll like this" I told her grabbing a movie off the shelf; I had just bought this thriller the other day and hadn't watched it yet. "Make yourself comfortable" I said pointing in the general direction of my bed, I put the movie in the player and turned around, Bella hadn't moved.

She stood looking between the bed and my black leather sofa, I smiled and settled on my bed "Come on" I said patting the space beside me, she walked over and settled herself beside me, my heart began to beat erratically at the sight of her sitting on my bed, I really have to get it together I thought. But she was so close, closer than she had ever been to me, our arms bumped together.

She gasped during a part during the movie that obviously scared her, I grabbed her hand gently.

When I touched her hand it sent a jolt of electricity through my skin, momentarily it shocked me, I looked at our intertwined hands my mouth open. I looked up to see if she had felt the same, she had, I smiled at her and held her hand tighter.

I didn't let go of her hand until the end of the movie. I walked her home, feeling a little sad to be leaving her even if only for a few hours, I had no idea what was wrong with me and I hadn't felt like this before. I certainly couldn't tell the guys about that, it certainly wasn't manly and they would be relentless.

"Hey Ed" said Emmett walking into the living room and collapsing heavily on the sofa, "Partay tonight!" he said happily.

I laughed. "So where did you disappear to this afternoon?" asked Jasper, man he was really starting to turn into a male version of Alice!

"I gave Bella a ride home and we watched a movie" I told them.

"Did you finally make a move?" asked Emmett, I shook my head. "What the f..." Emmett started.

Jasper interrupted him, "Edward you really better do it soon, she won't stay single for long, I mean there are guys queuing up to ask her out" he said, I knew this, the thought of her dating someone else was not something I wanted to think about. "We should go get ready" Jasper said looking at his watch.

I got ready quickly and pulled on my costume, Alice had suggested this vampire costume, I decided not to argue.

I figured the little pixie had a plan up her sleeve and I didn't want to ruin her fun.

We all headed next door and let ourselves in, Alice and Rosalie looked great in their costumes, but nothing could have prepared me for how Bella looked.

She was also dressed as a vampire, a hot, sexy vampire. I knew I was staring and possibly drooling but I didn't care, I looked her up and down and caught her watching me curiously "We match" I said beaming at her, she smiled back.

Emmett whistled "Nice Bella! Looking good!" she blushed, I loved it when she did that.

"Thanks Em, you guys all look amazing!" she added.

"Group photos" announced Alice.

After photos we headed out to the waiting taxi, I saw Rose put her arm around Bella and whisper something to her, making Bella laugh, I wondered what they were up to?

"Man, you will have to keep a close eye on our Bella tonight" Emmett said to me, "She is looking hot!"

"I will Em" I told my brother, "I have no intentions of leaving her side".

When we reached Riley's parents place we headed straight inside to the bar and grabbed a drink. I was standing as close as physically possible to Bella as we chatted. I noticed Riley walking over to us, with James. Fuck, I hated James; he was the kind of guy that treated women like shit.

I noticed him staring at Bella, assessing her like a piece of meat. I balled my hands up at my side, infuriated.

"Hey! Glad you could all make it, love the costumes!" Riley shouted over the noise.

"Looking good man!" said Emmett.

"Thanks for the invite" added Jasper.

"No problem, looking lovely as always" he said to Alice and Rosalie who smiled and thanked him. He turned to me "Edward! Love it" he said gesturing at his costume, I laughed. While I hated James, Riley was a good guy; you could always count on him. We had been friends since first grade

"And who is this?" he asked smiling at Bella.

"Riley, this is Bella, Bella this is Riley" I replied.

"Nice to meet you Bella" he said earnestly, "I've heard a lot about you! How's Seattle treating you?" he asked her.

"You too, good, I really like it here" she replied enthusiastically.

"Oh and Bella this is James" Riley said, James was still staring at Bella and I could tell he was making her uncomfortable.

I narrowed my eyes at James and put my arm around her.

"It's a pleasure Bella" drawled James "I'll come and find you later for a dance" he added winking.

Like hell you will I thought angrily.

"Yuck, he is so gross" said Alice when they had walked away, nodding in agreement Rose added "Watch out for him Bells, he is a total sleaze bag. He will take any opportunity to make a move on you"

"And if he tries his face will meet my fist" Emmett said "I have been waiting for the opportunity to get that slimy bastard for years" Bella looked worried,

"Don't worry Bella, I'll keep you safe" I told her.

About an hour later we were all pretty drunk, "Holy shit!" exclaimed Jasper "A giant hot dog!"

We all looked in the direction he was looking in and saw a man ambling along in a hot dog suit. We all watched and laughed as he attempted to manoeuvre through the crowd hitting people with the end of his costume.

"Great, look who's arrived" said Rosalie sarcastically.

"With such original costumes too" Alice added, I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach; I knew exactly who they were talking about.

I glanced towards the door and saw Tanya and Lauren walking in.

Fuck, after our break up she seemed to be everywhere I went. She made my life a living hell for a long time as she was unable to let go after I dumped her ass after walking in on her with another guy.

What the hell was I thinking dating her? I wondered what I ever saw in her, I was young and stupid. Tanya was dressed as a nurse, I grimaced and she looked around the room with eagerly looking for something, Lauren was dressed as a playboy bunny and appeared to already be drunk. I hoped she wasn't looking for me, I didn't want tonight to be another night like so many before when I had to spend the whole night avoiding her.

"They're friends?" Bella asked nervously, I glanced at her, she looked so worried. That made me angry, I had had enough of the way they had both treated Bella these last few weeks.

"Oh yes, BFF"S" chanted Jasper in a high pitched voice making Bella laugh.

Tanya looked our way, "Let's go get another drink Bella" I said leading her away, she followed me gratefully.

I got us both a strong drink, which Bella gulped down before I had even picked up my glass.

"Bella, hey slow down" I said softly, she looked up at me wincing "Don't worry about those two" I reassured her.

"You're right" she said sighing. "Come on let's grab another drink and head back to the group so I can face those two head on." she said. We walked back to where the others were still standing observing the crowd.

"Oh joy" said Rosalie sarcastically, I looked up and saw Tanya and Lauren walking towards us.

Great, so it was going to be one of those nights, I grabbed my drink and downed it quickly.

Jasper and Rosalie began to snigger at the way Tanya was trying to walk sexily towards me, she looked ridiculous.

"Hi Edward, hi boys!" purred Tanya, Lauren just did this weird blinking thing, I looked at them both feeling completely repulsed. "So Edward, I just love your costume!" she continued, no one said a word, but that wouldn't stop Tanya, "And Emmett and Jasper, you both look great too" she added. "Oh and hi girls" she sneered at Bella, Alice and Rose.

"What are you all supposed to be?" added Lauren.

Furious I jumped in and stated the obvious, struggling to keep my temper under control.

"Oh I see now!" said Lauren stupidly; "Your costumes are actually kind of cool" Tanya glared at her. "So what do you think of our costumes?" Lauren asked, "I bet you think they are like just amazing" she said.

"Yeah something like that" muttered Rose.

Tanya narrowed her eyes, "Edward, I was wondering if you'd like to dance with me?" she purred.

I raised one eyebrow at her, was she kidding? "I know you think my costume is sexy" she added, I stared at her in shock, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Actually Tanya, I was just about to ask Bella to dance with me" I replied, I felt Bella freeze beside me, "Also I don't really find the whole nurse thing that sexy" I continued "But I do think vampire costumes are" I added sneaking a glance at Bella and smiling, she looked amazing tonight. It was hard not to stare at her.

"Well I don't think her costume is at all sexy" Tanya sneered, my head snapped up "And I also really don't like ugly, stupid bitches like you moving in on my territory" she spat moving closer to Bella, I looked at her, I was furious, my jaw clenched and hands in fists I glared at her.

"Edward would never go for someone like you, I don't know why you would even waste your time. Maybe you should just go back to wherever it is you came from because people like Edward are just too nice to tell someone that they don't want them around. Besides look at you, you are just so plain, boring, average" she spat.

"Back off Tanya you bitch" warned a furious Rosalie, "You wouldn't want security to drag your skanky ass out of here would you? I don't think that would look good for your reputation" snarled Alice.

"Fine" she spat, "But Swan you have been warned" I couldn't open my mouth, I was so angry I could barely breathe, just as I was about to retort she had disappeared. I turned around to Bella, she looked to be on the verge of tears and it broke my heart. I stepped towards her.

"I ummm I'm just going to go get some air, alone" she spluttered before running off.

"I have to go after her" I announced immediately pushing my way through the crowd in the direction Bella had gone in.

Why couldn't I have jumped in and said something I thought angrily as I searched desperately through the crowd for her. I looked in every room with no luck; I found a door leading to a small court yard.

"Bella" I called out, there was no answer, I decided to look around anyway, I didn't want her to be alone right now.

I turned the corner and saw her, sitting down on a bench, she looked scared and upset and that fucking bastard James was sitting beside her, touching her leg.

"Get your hands off her" I snarled venomously, he jumped up quickly glaring at me as he made a hasty exit. "Bella, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I asked concerned.

"No" she whispered.

I sat down next to her and put my arm around her, it killed me to see her so upset "Bella, nothing that Tanya said is true" I said softly, "You are far from plain, did I tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" she stared at me, "She is just jealous, she always has been, of girls who are prettier than her, that's why she is so horrible to you" this was the moment, I had to tell her how I felt about her "Bella" I said softly "You are far from boring, far from average, far from plain. You just don't see yourself clearly"

I opened my mouth to finally tell her how I felt about her when the court yard door was flung open and shouts filled the air. I felt so defeated, "Come on" I encouraged "It's cold out here, let's go back in" I put my arm around her and led her inside. I guess I would have to find another moment to tell her.

"Bella!" they all yelled as we reached the group.

"Honey are you okay?" asked Alice.

"I'm fine" she said.

"I really hate that bitch" stated Rosalie, "I have had enough of her giving you a hard time"

"You know what?" I said loudly, "I think I have been far too nice to her, there's something I should have done a long time ago. I'll be right back" I said determined, before making my way through the crowd to where she was standing with Lauren.

When she noticed me walking towards her she looked pleased with herself. She was delusional and was not going to enjoy what I was about to say to her.

"Tanya" I said sharply "A word alone now" I demanded.

She smirked at me "Sure!" she exclaimed.

I led her a little way away from Lauren but still in view of the group as I figured they would all want to see this, I glanced at them briefly.

Sure enough they were all staring at us, their curiosity evident.

"Look Tanya" I said bluntly "I have something I need to say to you, it's been a long time coming so please just listen carefully", she flicked her hair and smiled happily.

"Okay!" she replied.

I took a deep breath, "Tanya" I began "I don't know why you think otherwise but I don't have feelings for you anymore. I broke up with you and you know why I did it. I want you to leave me the fuck alone, I want you to leave my family alone and most of all I want you to leave Bella alone. I am sick to death of you thinking I still want you, I don't. I have tried to be nice to you and time and time again you tried to make my life hell. I have had enough. This ends now" I ranted.

The smirk on her face was gone, she looked at me disbelief and anger visible on her overly made up face.

"Do not ever speak to Bella like that again" I was on a roll now, all my pent up emotions flowing freely, damn it felt good!

"If you ever bother us again I will lay harassment charges against you. I have enough against you and you know it. Tanya, we are over. Please just let me go" I finished and with that I walked away feeling better than I had in a long time.

"Fuck you!" she screamed, "You will never find another girl like me!"

I spun around, "Fine be with that stupid little bitch" she said lowering her tone, she looked livid, "But don't come crawling back to me when she can't satisfy you the way I could!" she spat. I laughed, I couldn't help it.

"Fuck Tanya, I would never come crawling back to you. You cheated on me with half the guys on campus" I growled, she looked shocked. "Yes, that's right, I found out" I said.

"Please Edward, I'm sorry. I love you!" she exclaimed tears welling up in her eyes; here we go again, fake tears. She always uses them to try and get her way.

"Well I don't love you" I said bluntly, "We are done Tanya, we have been for a long time" she looked defeated. I shook my head and walked away.

"What happened?" asked Alice, I looked at Bella; she looked pale, worried and sad.

I filled them in on what happened, "It's about fucking time!" yelled Emmett, the others nodding in agreement. "This calls for shots" he announced beckoning a bar tender over.

I took one gladly and went and stood beside Bella. She smiled at me; she looked so beautiful when she smiled. I clinked my shot glass to hers and downed my shot. "Let's let loose and partay!" yelled Jasper.

"Wooohoooo!" shouted Emmett in agreement.

The rest of the party went smoothly; I was finally able to enjoy myself knowing that Tanya wouldn't bother me anymore.

_Bella's Point of View_

I watched as Edward made his way across the crowd to where Tanya was standing downing drinks and flirting with every male that approached her.

I felt sick, what if he was going to tell her he still wanted her, loved her even? I swallowed nervously; I didn't know how I would handle that. Alice and Rose flanked me, putting their arms around me.

"Don't worry sweetie" said Rose comfortingly "He doesn't want her anymore, he wants you" I shook my head.

"You'll see" added Alice. We all watched, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Ha! She doesn't look happy" commented Emmett.

"Looks like he just told her to beat it!" exclaimed Jasper.

We saw him turn away from her and begin to walk away, just then she yelled something at him and he spun around stalking back towards her.

People blocked our view and I couldn't see what was happening anymore.

Then suddenly Edward was just a few feet away.

"What happened?" asked Alice as he reached us, he looked at me and smiled.

He began to fill us in on what had happened.

Relief washed over me as I learnt that he had told her that he didn't love her, didn't want her and that he stood up for me.

My heart soared "It's about fucking time!" yelled Emmett, the others nodding in agreement. "This calls for shots" he announced beckoning a bar tender over.

We all took one eagerly and Edward came and stood beside me. I smiled at me and in return he smiled his dazzling smile back at me. He clinked his shot glass to mine before downing his shot. "Let's let loose and partay!" yelled Jasper.

"Wooohoooo!" shouted Emmett. For the rest of the night Edward stayed by my side, laughing and joking. He looked happy, relieved, I felt hopeful. Maybe one day I would be able to tell him how I felt.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Shout out to Alice Bones Salvatore, thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked Edward's point of view? It turned out much better than I thought it would so there will be more to come! Enjoy chapter eleven and pretty please review =)**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I only wish I did**

**Chapter songs: Rolling In On a Burning Tire – The Dead Weather, Me & You – Fall Out Boy**

After the drama of Riley's party I was sceptical that Tanya would finally back off and leave Edward alone.

I was pleasantly surprised, she had obviously gotten the hint, she never spoke to Edward in the days that followed and she didn't even so much as look at me. But much to my disappointment James was rather taken with me.

I no longer dreaded seeing Tanya around campus, even Lauren, but James, I dreaded bumping into him.

Normally I was skilled at avoiding people I didn't want to see, this stemmed from my experience regarding a certain ex I would rather not talk about.

However with James it was almost as though he had memorised my timetable. To be honest it was starting to really freak me out, I didn't like the way he would stand and watch me, trying to catch my eye. I tried to put it out of my mind but that wasn't possible, Edward had noticed and to say he didn't like it would be an understatement.

He and his recruit Jasper had taken to escorting me to class, they even got Alice and Rosalie in on the act, they would escort me to class whenever possible and even if it was a little ridiculous I was grateful. He would never approach me if I wasn't alone, I was glad, I was running out of viable excuses as to why I couldn't stop and talk.

It was Tuesday, three weeks before Thanksgiving; Edward was giving me a ride to college. This had become a common reoccurrence these days, not that I minded!

"Morning!" he called through the frosty air, it was freezing this morning, the kind of morning that makes me yearn for the heat of Phoenix.

"Hey" I replied as I walked towards the open passenger door of his Volvo, he closed it softly behind me and we were on our way.

"You still have study group this evening right?" Edward asked me, glancing at me quickly before turning his eyes back to the road.

"Yeah I do, has yours been cancelled? I can find my own way home" I asked worriedly, we both had separate study groups this evening since exams were approaching fast, we were both going to be on campus till around 8pm so Edward had said he would meet me outside the English class where my group was meeting.

"Silly Bella, I wouldn't make you find your own way home" he said smiling and shaking his head "My group is still meeting tonight; I'll meet you just like we planned".

The day flew by, it was hectic.

Professors were dumping extra work on us all to prepare us for exams and I was fairly certain a few from my classes would crumble under the pressure.

Study group was non eventful and not as helpful as I had hoped, the time dragged, probably due to the fact that I was anxious to see Edward.

Finally we decided to wrap it up, it was earlier than I expected and there was still another quarter of an hour before Edward's group would finish up.

I hurried outside, it was cold, dark and a storm appeared to be brewing. I decided to hurry across campus and meet Edward outside the library, even though he had given me strict instructions to wait in the English class.

I rolled my eyes, he was worried James would use the opportunity to accost me; I doubted he would be here this late, he didn't seem that studious.

I walked as fast as I could without tripping; I approached a section of path where there weren't as many lights as before. It made me a little nervous so I increased my pace; I heard footsteps behind me and began to panic.

Calm down I told myself, I knew that if I let the panic set in I would probably trip and fall on the cold concrete path.

Why would someone be following me? I questioned myself, you don't even know if it's anyone following you a voice inside my head tried to reason.

I turned around, needing to know what I was up against, I didn't recognise the face in the dim light, but I knew it was a male. I gulped nervously as he got closer. Please walk down the path now Edward, please find me I thought knowing it would do no good.

"Hey!" he shouted, I could hear his footsteps right behind me, I panicked and stumbled.

I felt a strong hand grab my arm, "What's a pretty girl like you doing walking around campus alone?" asked the deep voice.

"I uhh" I stuttered, he laughed a deep throaty laugh.

"Well now, it must be my lucky day, you are a very pretty girl" he said roughly tilting my face towards his to take a better look.

I started to run through all the self defence moves I knew, searching for one that would help me now, "Let go of me" I demanded, the fear was too apparent in my voice, he laughed again.

"You know I don't think I will" he leered. I began to struggle against his hold on my arms, ripping my jacket in the process, I managed to get away and began to run, but I wasn't fast enough, I tripped and fell on the concrete path. He caught up to me easily, grabbing my arm roughly.

I knew now I wasn't going to get away. "Let her go!" growled the voice I had been so desperately hoping to hear.

I heard Edward running towards us; suddenly the man let my arm go and took off in the opposite direction.

"Bella!" cried Edward as he reached me and knelt down on the path beside me "Shit Bella, are you hurt? Sweetheart did he hurt you?" he asked desperately, I shook my head; tears began to roll down my face.

Edward put his arms around me and cradled me, "Bella, sweetheart it's okay now. I promise" he said softy into my hair "What happened?" he asked gently.

"We finished early, I was walking to meet you and he followed me" I managed to choke out. I was struggling to catch my breath and my tears were still flowing freely.

"Whoever he is I'll kill him" he said roughly, he picked me up gently and carried me all the way to the car. He opened the door and set me in the passenger seat gently, he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped me in it, I hadn't realised how cold I was until now.

The ride home was a blur; he held my hand the whole time, it made me feel safe. When we got home he helped me out of the car, offering to carry me, I shook my head and tried to walk. I must have been in shock; my knees gave out underneath me so he scooped me up in his arms once again and carried me inside.

"Holy shit, what happened?" demanded Emmett as Edward carried me into the living room.

Alice, Rose, Emmett and Jasper all jumped up off the sofa upon seeing us and hurried over, "Bella, fuck, honey are you okay?" asked Rose desperately.

"What happened Edward? Bella are you okay?" asked Alice, her eyes filling with tears.

I tried to open my mouth to talk but I couldn't, tears began to roll down my face again, I began to sob uncontrollably.

Edward set me down on the sofa and wrapped his arms around me, "She's in shock, please grab a blanket, some water and Tylenol" he ordered.

Everyone scattered and within minutes were all back in the living room, Edward was trying to calm me down, whispering words of comfort, holding me tight. It worked, after a while I was able to calm down enough to take a deep breath and tell everyone what had happened.

They were all enraged, upset and worried, "Who is he?" growled Emmett, "We will hunt the bastard down and..."

Rose gave him a look that silenced him. "Honey did he hurt you?" she asked, she looked so upset.

"No" I assured her, "All he did was grab me and I fell" I said in a small voice that didn't sound like my own.

"Did you recognise his face Bella?" asked Jasper softly, "Was he someone you had seen on campus?"

I shook my head "No I've never seen him before. But I would recognise him anywhere now" I said.

"Honey we have to call the police" said Rose.

I looked up at her fearful, "You need to tell them what happened so he doesn't go after anyone else" she said gently.

"She's right Bella" added Edward, "Don't worry sweetheart, I won't leave you, I'll stay right here with you the whole time"

The police arrived and asked me and Edward a ton of questions, they were nice and they didn't push me.

I felt better after talking with them but I was exhausted, I was still in shock. I managed to have a hot shower and dress for bed automatically, Edward waited for me in my room after briefly going home for a quick shower and to change his clothes.

"Feeling better?" he asked worry evident in his emerald green eyes.

I nodded climbing into bed; he lay down beside me and cradled me once again. It was comforting having him here, I didn't want him to leave but I wasn't sure how to convey that to him.

"Sweetheart, if you want me to stay with you till you fall asleep I will" he told me.

"I do want you to stay" I said quietly. I fell asleep quickly, in the comfort and warmth of Edward's arms.

When I woke in the morning I was confused until a vague memory of the day before flooded my mind, I worked at repressing the little memory I had of the incident. It was something I was rather good at, forgetting unpleasant things and since I had let all my emotions out that night it would make things easier.

Edward was still there when I woke up, he was already awake. He smiled at me "How are you feeling?" he asked concerned.

"Better" I replied honestly, "I can't remember all of what happened so that's good. It'll be easier to push it aside and forget" I said in a hopeful tone, Edward looked at me worry etched on his face.

The next three weeks went by fast luckily for me.

Edward had stayed with me most nights, it was good and on the nights he wasn't there I struggled to sleep.

I had repressed the memory well and only occasionally images would flood my mind.

The police had caught up with him only a few days later and he was being charged with assault and ordered back to to the west coast.

I was relieved when Wednesday finally rolled around; I was flying to Florida tonight.

I had decided to use the ticket Edward had given me for my birthday to spend Thanksgiving with Mom and Phil. I would be spending Christmas with Dad and Sue this year in Forks.

I was looking forward to seeing my Mom, but I was dreading being apart from Edward, even if it was only for four days. They all insisted on driving me to the airport before heading to Forks, so here we all were waiting for my final boarding call. "Bells, I'm going to miss you!" exclaimed Alice, "So much!"

"I know Allie, I'll miss you too. All of you" I said earnestly looking at each of their faces, Edward looked sad.

"This is the final boarding call for flight 7-0-3 bound for Jacksonville International Airport, Florida. Passengers please make your way to gate 3" the lady over the intercom announced.

"That's you Bells, take care and we will be here to pick you up Sunday night" said Rose hugging me, after goodbyes and hugs from Jasper, Emmett and Alice I turned to Edward.

He hugged me tightly, "Be safe Bella. Happy Thanksgiving" he told me. I waved one last time before heading through the gates and then I was off.

"Bella!" cried Renee through a sea of voices; I spotted her easily through the crowd. Jacksonville suited her; she looked younger, happier and very tan!

"Mom!" I exclaimed as she hugged me tight.

"Bella, honey, I've missed you so much!"

"Oh Mom I've missed you too" I replied.

"Oh we have so much to catch up on!" she exclaimed excitedly helping me with my bag and leading the way to the car.

We headed out into the warm Florida air, I let the sun's rays wash over me, "Bet you have missed the sun and heat huh?" asked Renee smiling.

"Like you wouldn't believe" I told her.

Even for November it was pretty warm, in the late 60's, warmer than Seattle! On the drive home I took in the scenery as Renee filled me in on life in Jacksonville.

"We thought we would just spend tonight at home, spend a little time catching up" smiled Renee, "Phil has training tonight so he'll be late home, gives us more time for girl talk" she told me giving me a knowing look.

I knew what that look meant, she was going to grill me. We pulled into the driveway; the house was really nice, bigger than our house in Arizona. It had a pool and was close to the beach.

Renee showed me to my room, one of four bedrooms in the house. It was airy and light, I liked it a lot. I quickly unpacked and joined her in the kitchen where she had made us both a cocktail. "So honey how's life in Seattle?" she asked me.

"It's great, I really like living with Rose and Alice" I answered.

"Those boys seemed nice too" she added, "Yeah they are, Emmett and Jasper are like the brothers that I never had" I said smiling.

Renee raised an eyebrow "And Edward?" she asked, I blushed, damn it! I had instantly given myself away.

"He's a great friend" I told her.

Renee knew me too well to let that blush slide "Bella, you like him don't you?" she said grinning.

"Ummm" I replied, she narrowed her eyes at me still smiling.

"Okay yes" I admitted.

"I knew it! Tell me everything!" she demanded.

"There isn't much to tell, I don't think he likes me back" I answered, that wasn't enough for Renee. I filled her in on everything and she prompted me with a million questions.

"Well honey, I don't think you have anything to worry about. He likes you just as much as you like him" she concluded. "Now where are these photos I have been waiting to see"

I pulled out my laptop from my bag and showed her the photos of my party and my first few weeks in Seattle that she had already seen but wanted to see again. I showed her the pictures of the Halloween party and various other photos we had taken.

"Edward is very good looking!" she announced, "He seemed like such a lovely boy too" she said obviously remembering my 21st birthday.

I blushed again and changed the subject; this was easy with Renee with so much to catch up on. Phil joined us later and out came the photos again. He didn't pry as much as Renee, but that was probably because she would fill him in later.

The next day was Thanksgiving, which was a quiet family affair, just the three of us this year which was nice.

On Saturday Renee wanted to take me shopping, they had announced the night before that after buying a lottery ticket for the first time in years they won the jackpot! I was thrilled for them, it meant they could travel to see me more and live more comfortably. This had only happened the week before Thanksgiving so they had decided to surprise me with that.

When Renee suggested a shopping trip she was shocked when I was actually willing and eager. I protested when she told me it was their shout but she was adamant. "Isabella Marie Swan I never thought I would see the day that you would willingly spend a whole day in a mall shopping!" she exclaimed excitedly as we walked through the glass doors into the mall, I laughed "You even got a little excited by the fact there is a big sale on" she looked at me smiling, "What have you done with my daughter!"

"I guess Alice and Rosalie's love of shopping has rubbed off a little" I said laughing still. We had a great day together, it made me realise just how much I missed my Mom, it would be so hard to say goodbye.

I managed to pick up a few gifts for my friends and Renee bought me so much I wasn't sure if it would all fit in my suitcase.

Later that night I was getting ready as Phil had made reservations at a restaurant for the three of us when my phone rang.

_Edward is calling said my screen_ I snatched up my phone excitedly, I hadn't spoken to him since Wednesday at the airport but I had had a few texts from everyone.

"Hello" I answered breathlessly.

"Hi Bella!" he exclaimed, "How's Jacksonville?"

"It's sunny! And good, it's great being with Mom and Phil" I replied, he laughed, oh how I missed his laugh!

"That's great Bella! We all miss you a lot" he added.

"I miss you all too. How's Port Angeles?" I asked hoping he would hear in my tone that I missed him the most.

"It's great, but not the same without you. We are all hanging out here at mine, Mom loves having us all here" he laughed "She really wants to meet you" he added, I laughed.

"Oi Ed stop hogging Bella we all want to talk to her you know" I heard Emmett yell in the background and then I heard a scuffle on the other end.

"Beat it Emmett" I heard Alice shout, It's my turn next remember"

I laughed "Sorry Bella, they are trying to steal the phone from me" Edward exclaimed

"I figured. Maybe you should let them all have a go and then we could talk some more?" I asked sounding hopeful.

"Good plan!" he agreed, "Here's Alice. She threatened me with physical pain if I didn't let her go first. She's pretty damn scary!" he said.

"Edward you dick! I wanted to talk first!" Emmett yelled, "Holy shit Alice that hurt!" he cried.

I giggled; he was so much like a child.

"Emmett Alexander Joshua Cullen, language!" I heard a female voice scold. That must be Esme, their Mom.

"Bella! I miss you!" exclaimed Alice.

"I miss you too Allie, what did you do to Emmett?" I asked her, "Ha I pinched him, he's just being a baby" she replied giggling "What are you up to?" she asked me.

"Oh I was just getting ready to go out for dinner. Today I went shopping with Renee" I added.

"Oooo! I can't wait to see what you bought!" she exclaimed.

After talking with Alice I chatted with Rose, then Emmett and finally Jasper.

"Me again" said Edward I could hear the smile through the phone. We chatted for a while before saying goodbye. It was good to hear his voice, I missed him more than I realised.

Before I knew it the weekend was over and Mom and Phil were driving me to Jacksonville International Airport.

"Oh honey, I miss you already!" exclaimed Renee "But we will see you at Christmas, Charlie and Sue invited us"

She had told me about this over Thanksgiving, I thought it was nice that we would all get to spend the holiday together, Sue and Phil were both completely comfortable with the idea which was good. We said our goodbyes, which admittedly were tearful.

"Bye Bells" said Phil hugging me, "It was good to see you, we both miss you a lot" he added.

"Bye honey" said Renee kissing my forehead.

I waved at them both as I boarded my flight back to Seattle.

Sure enough when I landed they were all waiting for me, when Edward saw me his face broke into the most beautiful smile, my favourite crooked smile.

It felt good to be home. In the car on the way home I filled them in on the rest of my trip and they told me about theirs.

As soon as we got home we headed up to my room so I could show Alice and Rose everything Renee had bought me on our shopping trip.

The boys took over the chair and bed while we looked at all my new clothes and they loved the presents I got them.

We hung out in the living room later sharing photos and Thanksgiving stories and talking about the Christmas break ahead. I felt relaxed, having a break in Florida had definitely helped me get over the incident that happened a few weeks ago, which was good.

I had also almost completely forgotten about the James problem. Little did I know in the coming months things would escalate and become a much bigger problem than I had ever anticipated.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I think you will all enjoy this chapter ;) Read, enjoy, review! **

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I only wish I did**

**Chapter songs: Something about You – Jamelia and Claire de Lune - Dubussy**

"Argh!" I grumbled to myself throwing down on my desk the notes I had been reading over, I was studying for exams and was frustrated by the fact that I had been cooped up in my room for hours feeling like I was making no progress.

I looked out my bedroom window, it was snowing, heavily. This added to my dark mood, it wasn't that I didn't like snow, I just was wary of it.

Growing up in Arizona meant the only time I ever saw it snow was when I spent Christmas is Forks with Charlie. Snow to a clumsy person was hell; I would have to be more careful than normal. I sighed, the house was so quiet.

It was Sunday and Alice and Rose had gone out for the day with their other halves. I picked up my notes again, I knew I had to try and concentrate for a little longer; my English 305 exam was tomorrow. I absorbed myself in my notes once again; suddenly my phone beeped making me jump.

I grabbed my cell quickly, eager for distraction.

_To Bella; From Edward_

_Hi Bella, how's the studying going? =)_

I read the message with a smile on my face; Edward was the best kind of distraction.

_To Edward; From Bella_

_Hey Edward, it's going, I guess. I have cabin fever!_

_To Bella; From Edward_

_Awww, I could use a break too. Want to come over?_

_To Edward; From Bella_

_Sure, be there in a few_

_To Bella; From Edward_

_Can't wait =) Use your key; I'm up in my room finishing off some reading, head straight up._

I quickly straightened my desk and checked my appearance in the mirror. I was glad I had decided to make myself presentable this morning instead of throwing on my usual study attire of sweatpants and a tee.

I grabbed my keys, phone and my jacket and headed downstairs. Outside was freezing cold and it was still snowing heavily, I trudged across the drive and let myself in to the boys place.

"Hey it's me" I called out.

"Come on up" Edward called back. "Hey" he said happily as I walked into his room.

"Hi" I replied smiling, "It feels so good to be out of my bedroom, out of the house even" I said happily, "I cannot wait for exams to be over!"

"I second that" he said chuckling, "What would you like to do today? Watch a movie? I bought some new ones" he told me.

I laughed "Of course you did and yes that sounds good"

We settled on his bed the same way we did every time we hung out like this.

We chatted through the previews; every time we hung out together alone we would ask each other questions, every question under the sun. I now knew almost everything there was to know about Edward. It was nice spending time with him but on the other hand it drove me to despair. I was still too chicken to admit my feelings so no progress had been made with our relationship turning in to anything more than friendship.

I pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on the movie. I must have been mentally exhausted from all the studying, I felt sleepy. Before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.

"Ssshhhhh, Emmett shut up or you'll wake them up!" I heard Rosalie whisper angrily as I began to wake.

"Awww they look so cute together" Alice whispered.

"Quick Jasper take the photo" I heard a click and a saw a flash behind my closed eyelids.

I heard Edward growl, it sounded close to my ear, I opened one eye just a little and saw his tee shirt clad chest, his arms were wrapped around me, this had to be the best way to wake up.

"And you thought I would wake them up, ha Jasper!" Emmett laughed.

Edward groaned "What the hell?" he released his grip on me.

Sitting up I glanced at my evil friends, Alice was beaming "Had a nice nap did we?" she asked me winking.

"It was until you lot woke us up" replied Edward.

I looked at Jasper and noticed the camera in his hands, "Argh, I can't believe you took photos Jasper" I groaned, he smiled at me sheepishly.

"It was Alice's idea"

"Of course it was" I mumbled.

"We'll just leave you to too it then!" said Emmett winking, I heard the emphasis he put on the word it.

I groaned once they had all left the room, "Nice friends we have huh?" asked Edward "I was enjoying our nap until they woke us up" he smiled at me.

My face flushed and my heart began to beat erratically. "Come on, we should head downstairs and steal that camera".

_Later that week_

"I hate winter" I announced loudly as I sloshed my way through the front door, it was snowing again and my shoes were soaked right through.

I kicked off my shoes and made my way into the living room; I had had a hellish day of back to back exams and having it snow and soak my shoes had tipped me over the edge.

The whole gang was there they all looked up as I sat down heavily on the couch.

"How'd your last exam go?" asked Edward.

"Hmm I think it went well, I hope" I grimaced.

"You'll ace it Bells" Jasper reassured me.

"I think we should celebrate tonight!" announced Alice, "No more exams and it's almost Christmas! Who's in?"

"Hell yes!" exclaimed Emmett.

"You know it" added Rose.

"I'm keen" said Jasper nodding.

They all turned to look at me and Edward, "I'm in" said Edward smiling.

I made it look like I was pondering for a moment, knowing that drawing it out would make Alice super impatient. I grinned "Only if there are strong drinks involved?" I asked, they all cheered.

"Of course!" exclaimed Emmett.

"Come on girls let's get ready" said Rosalie.

Since it was so cold we dressed to keep warm, we all wore jeans and dressy tops with jackets thrown over the top.

We met the boys downstairs; jumped in the taxi they called and made our way to our favourite bar. We pulled up at the New Moon Bar and Grill and hurried in to get out of the cold. We checked our coats and bags in, Emmett bought us all drinks and we settled in a booth to watch the boys play a game of pool.

"We should finish off our Christmas shopping this weekend" Alice said sipping her drink, "I only have a few things to get now" she added.

"Maybe we should go on Monday?" suggested Rosalie, "Avoid the crowds and all that" "That could work since we leave for Forks on Wednesday!" Alice replied. "How much do you have to get Bella?" she asked me.

"Ummm" I stalled. I had already bought Alice, Rose, Renee and Phil's gifts, so that left... I mentally counted up the other people I had to buy gifts for. Crap!

Alice noticed my worried expression, "Who do you have to buy for?" she demanded.

"Well put it this way, I sorted out your gifts and Renee and Phil's" I cringed "I guess I was so caught up in exams" I said feebly.

"Don't worry about it Bells, we'll help you find gifts for everyone" Rose reassured me.

As we chatted I felt as though someone was watching me. I casually glanced around, scanning the crowd in a non obvious way.

Standing by the bar was James, staring at me, I shivered. He smiled at me in a sinister, creepy kind of way, it made my skin crawl. There was something about him that wasn't right, something more than him just being a sleaze.

I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach; I looked away from him quickly and downed the rest of my drink. There was something not quite right, something I couldn't put my finger on. I pushed the feeling aside, I wanted tonight to be fun and he wasn't going to ruin that.

"Hey Bells! Want to play pool? Edward needs someone on his team so we can play doubles" Emmett said in a raised voice as he walked towards us girls, "Jasper and I will be one team, you and Edward on the other"

"Sure" I said eagerly, glad to distance myself from James and his creepy stare. "But I should warn you Em, I'm not very good"

Emmett laughed "Just make sure you don't hit any of us with the pool cue Bellsy and it'll be a good start" I joined in his laughter, that did sound like something I would do.

"Hey team mate!" Edward said putting his arm around me; I smiled up at him.

"I should warn you now I don't think I'll be of much help. I'm not the greatest of players"

He chuckled, "I'll teach you" he told me.

"Ok, hold the cue like this" Edward told me wrapping his hand around mine, his grasp was warm and strong, my heart began to beat erratically again.

"And then lean over like this and aim" he carried on, I was having trouble concentrating on what I was supposed to be doing having him so close.

"Now pull back and then forward" The balls broke apart and went in different directions.

"I got one in!" I exclaimed, shocked, the boys all laughed.

Rose whistled "Go Bella!"

The game went on, Edward helped me sink a few balls and it was neck and neck the whole way through. Joking and razzing ensued, I was having so much fun I had forgotten all about James. I hadn't notice him move his way across the crowd to be closer to me.

"We won?" I asked in amazement.

"Rub it in!" Emmett said sulkily.

"Stop being such a poor loser" Edward said punching Emmett in the arm.

"I demand a re-match!" said Jasper loudly.

The next game was Alice and Jasper versus Rose and Emmett, Edward bought us both another drink and we settled down in the booth to watch.

Alice was very competitive, but unfortunately for Jasper she was a terrible pool player.

Emmett and Rose won easily and the game was over quickly, Alice sat down next to me and Edward in a huff.

"Here Allie, drown your sorrows" Edward said pushing a drink across the table.

She laughed "Thanks Ed, so Bells what are you up to tomorrow?" Jasper and Alice were going out for the day as were Rose and Emmett.

I shrugged "Just hanging out at home I guess, we are all going out tomorrow night though right?"

"Yup, Jen from my design class is having a party and we are all invited" she replied.

"You could come over and we could hang out?" Edward asked me, "I was just going to hang around home so it'd be nice to have company" he smiled at me.

Alice caught my eye and gave me a knowing look. "That sounds great!" I answered enthusiastically.

When I woke the next morning it had stopped snowing but the ground was still covered in white.

I decided that for my own safety I would forgo my morning run, a broken leg for Christmas was not on my wish list.

I had a shower and got ready for the day, by the time I made it downstairs Alice and Rose had left.

I made breakfast and sent a few emails; Chelsea had sent me a long message that required a long reply. I missed her so much; I decided I would have to make a trip back to Phoenix soon.

Around 11am I headed across the drive to the boys place and let myself in.

"Morning" grinned Edward.

"Hey, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked him.

"Hmmm want to head down and check out the Pike Place Market?" he asked.

"I'd love too!" I had been dying to go and check it out since I first moved here.

We got bundled up and made our way outside; he headed straight to his prized Volvo.

"I'm guessing that means I don't get to drive?" I demanded pretending to be upset, he grinned at me.

"Get in Bella".

We had a great time at the market. We both picked up a few Christmas gifts and sampled the different food on offer.

We headed back to his place and decided to chill out and listen to some music.

"What are you listening to at the moment?" I asked him pressing the play button on his stereo; the sound classical music filled the room.

"Claire de Lune is great" I told him earnestly.

"You know Debussy's work?" he asked a pleased.

"Some, only my favourites, my Mom used to play classical music at home sometimes"

He smiled, we listened to the soothing melody for a while and then Edward stepped towards me and reached for my hand.

He pulled me close to him and put one hand around my waist, the other he intertwined with my right hand and clutched it to his chest.

I looked up at him confused, "I can't dance" I spluttered.

Hhe grinned at me "It's all in the lead. Lucky for you I can dance" he told me as we began to sway to the music.

I had to admit I was rather enjoying dancing like this with Edward, probably a little too much.

My heart was pounding in my chest once again, I wondered if I would ever be able to slow it down around him.

He twirled me around slowly, gently pulling me back towards him. I looked up and he was watching me with an unreadable expression.

"Bella" he said softly letting go of my hand and placing his under my chin.

I froze, unable to process in my mind about what was happening, I wanted to pinch myself, surely this was a dream, a product of my over active imagination.

He looked deep into my eyes, then to my lips and back again and then he slowly moved closer and kissed me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: Please read and review! Hope you are all enjoying the story so far =)**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I only wish I did**

**Chapter songs: You Got Me – J Williams feat Scribe, California Girls – Katy Perry feat Snoop Dogg, All My Life – Thirsty Merc**

His lips moved softly and slowly against my own, it was the most amazing kiss of my life.

He pulled away too soon for my liking; he looked at me with hooded eyes.

"I have wanted to do that since the moment I saw you Bella" he said, I was speechless "I hope I didn't cross the line" he said worriedly when I didn't reply.

I looked at him shyly "You didn't, I feel the same" I told him quietly.

The look he gave me was of pure happiness; he leaned in and kissed me again.

This time the kiss was more passionate than the first, he held me tight to his body as I melted in to him. His tongue made its way into my mouth and he tasted amazing. I could hardly believe he was kissing me!

When we pulled apart we were both panting slightly "Bella" he said again softly pulling me down to sit down on the bed beside him, "I'm falling for you" he admitted, my heart just about burst out of my chest.

He had just uttered the words I had been dreaming of him saying for months, "I want to take you out on a date; I want to be with you Bella"

"I'd like that" I said shyly "I want to be with you too"

He smiled widely at me "Come here" he said pulling me to lie down on the bed.

He kissed me again, which quickly turned into a make out session, I was finally able to release all the pent up emotions I had for him and I was hoping that's how it was for him too.

"Bella you are so beautiful" he told me in a rough voice full of desire tracing his finger over my cheek, I could barely breathe, his emerald green eyes were intense "About that date, how about tomorrow night?" he asked me softly "Just you and me, I want to take you to this quiet Italian restaurant you'd like"

I nodded, lost for words.

He chuckled and bent his face to mine to kiss me again but we were interrupted by the front door slamming and the sounds of our friends voices wafted up the stairs.

Edward sighed, "I guess that's all the privacy we will get for today" he said wistfully, "Come on beautiful we better straighten ourselves up and head down"

I glanced at myself in the mirror, my hair was a mess, it was obvious what we had been up to.

I began to smooth it down when I caught Edward leaning against the wall, smiling and watching me.

"I like your hair like that" he said cheekily.

I giggled "I'm sure" I carried on "I have a question" I told him.

He moved towards me and taking one of my hands "Yes?" he asked.

"Are we, I mean, ummm what are we going to tell them?" I stuttered.

"Well if you don't mind I was planning on telling them I'm your boyfriend" he smiled, "But only if you don't mind?" he asked me.

"I don't mind" I told him, thrilled.

He grinned at me, "Also I think perhaps we should see how long it takes one of them to guess as to whether something happened between us today. What do you think?"

I laughed "I'm sure Alice will notice fairly quickly but okay" I told him.

We headed downstairs, "Hey you two" said Alice when we walked into the living room "What did you get up to today?" she asked.

"I took Bella to the Pike Place market" he said with a huge grin on his face.

Alice eyed him speculatively "Did you have fun Bells?"

"It was great, I have been wanting to check it out for ages" I gushed. "How was your day?" I asked her.

I had the biggest smile on my face, Alice had noticed and so had Rose. They were both looking at me suspiciously.

"You look like you won the lottery or something" commented Rose.

"More like you look like you're hiding something, both of you" Alice stated, she was still staring at us.

That got the attention of Jasper and Emmett. They both looked up and Jasper raised his eyebrow.

"Hmm you're right Alice, they are hiding something" he accused.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I said hurriedly in a high pitched voice, much higher than my normal tone.

"Isabella you really are a terrible liar" laughed Rose.

"OH!" breathed Alice her eyes going wide, "H-o-ly s-h-it!" she screeched. "You two finally kissed didn't you?" she began to bounce up and down in her seat.

My face flushed, I snuck a glance at Edward he was beaming from ear to ear.

"Come on don't leave us hanging!" Emmett whined.

"Yes we did" confirmed Edward looking pleased.

"W-O-W it's about bloody time!" exclaimed Rosalie happily.

Emmett and Jasper both had ridiculous grins on their faces and Alice was barely able to contain herself.

"So details please!" demanded Alice, "Does this mean you two..." she trailed off looking at us expectantly.

I nodded a grin breaking out on my face.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This is so exciting!" squealed Alice jumping up and hugging us both.

"Nice man!" Emmett complimented Edward, "Glad you finally grew some balls and told her how you feel" he patted Edward on the back while winking at me. I giggled.

"I think this most definitely calls for a celebration tonight" announced Rose.

"Which means we are going to have to steal Bella off you for a while Edward. We totally need to get ready for the party!" said Alice clapping her hands together.

"And for a little girl talk" said Rose winking at me.

"As long as you don't torture her too much" he chuckled kissing me on the forehead.

We headed back to our place and Rose grabbed some drinks for us for while we got ready. Alice turned the stereo on loud, playing Katy Perry's latest album in her room before dragging me to mine to pick out a dress to wear.

After showering we gathered in Alice's room to get ready.

"Okay, now spill" Rose demanded handing me a drink.

"About what?" I asked coyly.

"Damn it Isabella don't play with us!" Alice said smirking.

"Okay okay" I launched into my story of this afternoon and Rose and Alice oooed and ahhhed in all the right places.

"Oh that is so romantic" swooned Alice, yes seriously swooned.

I giggled; I was on cloud nine right now.

"Seriously, that story is sooo sweet" sighed Rosalie. "So is he a good kisser?" she asked turning serious.

I nodded biting my lip, they both grinned. "Best kiss in your life?" asked Alice curious.

"Hell yes!" I exclaimed.

We continued to gossip while we got ready. Rosalie was ready first so she helped me with my hair and makeup.

She was wearing a really cute one shoulder dress in an all over animal style print. The print was black and a peachy pink colour and short, showing off her long legs and the neckline was ruffled.

As usual she looked stunning; she left her long blonde hair out and straight and finished off her look with black bracelets and super high heels.

Alice was taking longer than usual due to the fact that she had already had a few drinks and in her excitement over my news was dancing around her room.

She had put on a very Alice Brandon style dress which suited her personality perfectly. The top was tank top style, with a vee neck and cut out detail on the back. It was a graphic triangle print pink, blue, white and various shade of purple.

The skirt was figure hugging and black. She teamed it with black pumps and left her dark hair out.

I was wearing a dress I hadn't yet worn that we had purchased on our shopping spree when I first moved here.

It was midnight blue, my favourite colour, with a sweetheart neckline and small straps. It was mid thigh length and had silver stud detailing in diagonals across the dress and I was wearing matching heels.

By the time we were ready we had had a few vodka and juices so we were starting to get pretty giggly.

Alice was dancing around to California Girls by Katy Perry singing loudly, she changed 'California' to 'Washington' and Rose and I soon joined in.

_Washington girls, we're unforgettable,  
Daisy dukes, bikinis on top!  
Sunkissed skin,  
So hot we'll melt your popsicle!  
Oh oh oh ohhhhhhh!_

Washington girls, we're undeniable,  
Fine, fresh, fierce,  
We got it on lock!  
West coast represent, now put your hands up!  
Oh oh oh ohhhhhhh!

We were singing so loudly we hadn't heard the boys let themselves in and we were so busy dancing we hadn't seen them in the door way.

When Snoop Dogg's rap part came up, Rose stood up on a chair and belted out,

_Toned, tanned fit and ready,  
turn it up 'cos it's gettin' heavy,  
wild, wild, west coast,  
these are the ones I love the most! _

She pointed at us while singing and mimed the actions.

_I mean the ones,  
I mean like she's the one,  
Kiss her,  
Touch her,  
Squeeze her buns..._

The girl's a freak,  
She drives a Jeep,  
And lives on the beach.  
I'm okay  
I won't play  
I love the Bay  
Just like I love L.A.  
Venice Beach  
And Palm Springs  
Summertime is everything!

_Homeboys  
Hangin' out  
All that ass  
Hangin' out  
Bikinis, tankinis, martinis  
No weenies  
Just a king and a queen-ie  
Katy my lady  
You're lookin'here baby  
I'm all up on ya'  
'Cos you representin' California!_

We were all in fits of laughter by now and then Emmett whistled.

We turned around and saw them standing in the door way and froze.

I went red, "How much did you see?" asked Alice horrified.

"All of it and may I just say I didn't know you could rap Rose" said Jasper laughing.

We all looked at each other horrified then Alice started to giggle. We all burst out laughing then, we must have looked so ridiculous.

"I guess we should get a move on then" said Alice once we had all calmed down enough.

We headed to Alice's friend Jen's place, it was an amazing apartment in downtown Seattle. Jen seemed really nice and we girls all made plans to hang out outside of UW soon.

The party was fairly small and luckily for me there was no one else I knew there so there was no one to ruin the buzz I was on over finally getting together with Edward.

I had noticed several girls checking him out when we arrived but he didn't seem to notice any of them. He stayed by my side for the whole night.

"Having fun?" I asked him.

"Hmmmmm" he hummed pulling me close. "Yes and no. Yes because I'm here with you but no because I'd rather not have to share you"

My heart fluttered "We could leave, I'm sure the others wouldn't mind" I mused.

We said goodbye to the gang and headed downstairs to the waiting taxi that Edward had called.

We were home in no time, Edward paid the driver and we stepped out into the cold winter's air.

"Stay with me tonight?" he asked me looking into my eyes, "I want to take things slowly Bella, you mean a lot to me and I don't want to ruin this, but I enjoy waking up with you in my arms" he smouldered.

How could I even possibly say no when he looked at me like that. "Okay" I breathed; I was practically putty in his hands.

He grabbed a change of clothes from his place and we headed up to my room straight away.

I got changed quickly and joined him in my room. He was waiting for me, wearing only pyjama pants. I hadn't seen him shirtless before, my breathing hitched. Could he be any more perfect I wondered? He was perfectly muscled, with an amazing 6 pack. I could hardly believe he was mine.

He smirked when he saw me gaping at him. I smiled sheepishly "Like what you see?" he joked. I nodded and he grinned widely.

"Come here beautiful" he said.

We got into bed and made ourselves comfortable. "Bella?" he said softly.

"Mmmmm?" I asked I was so comfortable and warm lying in his arms.

"You have made me so happy" he whispered kissing my forehead.

When I woke in the morning I was still in Edward's embrace, he was already awake, watching me.

"Morning gorgeous" he said smiling.

"Morning" I said sleepily.

"You were rather talkative in you sleep last night" he informed me smiling.

Crap! I panicked, what the hell did I say and more importantly was this the first time he had heard me sleep talking. I winced "What did I say?"

He chuckled "Nothing bad beautiful, don't worry. You just asked me not to leave a few times"

I frowned "Is this the first time you've heard me?" I asked.

"Well no" he said "But don't worry you have never said anything remotely embarrassing"

I cringed; I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"Bella, hey, don't be embarrassed" he told me softly coaxing my chin up with his finger and then he kissed me.

We made our way downstairs after showering and dressing. The rest of the gang were already in the kitchen eating pancakes. We helped ourselves and sat down.

"Soooooooo how did you two sleep?" asked Emmett winking.

"Great thanks Em" replied Edward, "So what are you lot up to today?" he asked changing the subject.

"Eh not a lot" he replied.

"Alice and I were thinking perhaps we could all go see a movie together?" asked Jasper, "There are a few really good ones out at the moment."

We all decided it sounds like fun so we finished breakfast and headed down town to the cinema.

Jasper bought the tickets while Emmett bought half the concession stand to share. Although we all knew he would devour most of it.

After the movie we headed home and Alice and Rose assigned themselves the task of helping me get ready for my first date with Edward.

They dressed me in a simple strapless black lace cocktail dress and matching heels. My hair was down and slightly curled.

Edward was waiting for me downstairs, his eyes widened when he saw me. "You look beautiful" he told me earnestly.

"You look pretty good yourself" I said smiling. He was wearing black dress pants and a dark blue shirt with a black winter coat.

When we reached the restaurant Edward opened my door for me and took my hand. I looked up at the name of the restaurant. La Bella Italia it read.

It was cute and quiet, with fairy lights adorning the trees outside. We headed inside out of the cold.

"Table two under Cullen" Edward told the hostess.

She eyed him up and down in an obvious manner "Sure thing" she said winking "Right this way."

She led us to a table in the middle of the restaurant "Here you are" she announced.

"Have you got something a little more private?" Edward asked.

She frowned "Sure" she led us to a booth "How's this?" she asked.

"Perfect thank you" he replied not once looking at her.

"Your server will be along shortly" she told him, she hadn't looked at me once during the whole time until now. She looked at me disgusted and flounced off.

Edward took my coat and settled down across from me.

He noticed me expression "What's wrong beautiful?" he asked concerned.

"I don't think she likes me much" I said "She was trying to flirt with you and you didn;t even notice her"

"How could I notice anyone else other than you" he said softly "You look so much more than beautiful tonight"

I blushed as he took my hand and held it across the table.

"Hi! My name is Crystal and I'll be your server this evening" I looked up to see our waitress openly ogling Edward. She was blonde and very pretty.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked him.

"Bella what would you like?" he asked me not letting go of my hand.

"Ummmm the mushroom ravioli please"

"And I'll have the steak thank you" he told her still not looking at her.

"And to drink?" she asked looking put out.

"Would a bottle of white wine be okay sweetheart?" he asked me his gaze never leaving me.

"Sure" I nodded.

"The best you have please" he told her.

"I'll be right back" she said and hurried off in a huff.

I shook my head, "That poor girl, she was trying to get your attention" I told him.

"Only you have my attention tonight" he replied.

We talked intensely until the server returned with our wine and a basket of breadsticks. Edward thanked her without looking at her and she walked away disappointed.

She returned not long after with our meals and left us to it without even bothering to try and get Edwards attention.

"So are you excited about Christmas?" I asked him taking a bite of my ravioli.

"It's my favourite time of year" he told me "And I'm fairly certain that this year will be the best yet." He said with a smile. "You know my mother wanted me to ask you if you and your family would want to have dinner with us this year. Usually we just have leftovers from lunch and have a few drinks to celebrate. Alice and Rose's families are going to join us."

"That sounds like fun" I told him. "I'm sure they would all love to, especially my mother" I said laughing.

He laughed "Have you told her about us?" he asked.

"Not yet" I said shaking my head "Have you told your parents?"

"No not yet" he said thoughtfully "I wanted to enjoy just being with you for a bit first."

I nodded in agreement "That's what I wanted too."

He smiled "We certainly have a lot in common. I suppose we probably should mention it before we head home for Christmas though."

I laughed again "I think that would be a good idea. Are you sure your parents don't mind my family being there for dinner? There will be quite a few of us this year." I said concerned.

"My mom loves having people over, she won't mind one bit. Besides she is dying to meet you."

I smiled nervously. "Now should I be worried about meeting your father, what with him being the police chief and all?" he asked worriedly.

"Well he does have a gun" I teased, Edward went slightly white. "I'll protect you" I said giggling.

He laughed, we talked a while longer and sharing stories of past Christmas's and before we knew it the server had returned with our bill.

I saw her slip a business card in to the folder as she walked over to us with what looked like a phone number on it.

She handed Edward the folder and without opening it he slipped in more than enough to cover the bill.

"No change" he informed her. She glared at me as he helped me back into my coat and escorted me out to the car.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters SM does.**

**Chapter songs: Winter Wonderland, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas**

'I can't believe you left your Christmas shopping so late Bella!" Alice remarked.

I groaned we had been traipsing around the mall for the past three hours trying in vain to find gifts for the remaining people on my list.

The mall was so busy you could barely move and many of the shoppers were so stressed it was pushing them to the point of insanity, myself included.

"Actually I take that back, I can believe it" she corrected herself.

"Well you will be pleased to know Miss Brandon that I have learnt my lesson. I will never again leave my Christmas shopping till the last minute" I told her. "Also I take back everything I have ever said recently about shopping being not so bad and fun. It isn't" I grumbled.

Rose laughed "Come on Bells, where is your Christmas spirit?"

I glared at her and she laughed again. "Come on then who do you have left to buy for?" she asked me.

I scanned my list, "Jasper, Leah, Sue, Seth and Edward" I read out. Christmas gifts had cost me a small fortune this year. I was grateful for my healthy savings account and the living costs my college scholarship paid.

"Well Jasper will be easy, there are a few CD's he has been talking about for ages" Alice told me, "You could even get Seth a CD voucher, I bet he'd like that."

"I thought you got Leah that really cool pair of earrings?" Rosalie interrupted.

"Hmm I did, but I kind of wanted to get her something else too" I replied.

"Get her a fancy beauty gift pack set and get one for Sue too. You could also get Sue a scarf or something" Rose suggested.

"Allie, Rose you are lifesavers!" I exclaimed.

We found the perfect gift sets and the CD's easily, now I just had Edward to buy for.

"What on earth could I possibly get Edward?" I groaned frustrated. This was the most important gift of all and I had absolutely no idea what to buy.

Alice and Rose threw suggestions at me, I settled on several gifts that I hoped he would like.

By the time we got home we were exhausted, we finished wrapping all the gifts and I headed upstairs to pack.

Just as I pulled my suitcase out of the storage cupboard and up the stairs my cell rang.

"Hey Mom!" I answered.

"Hi Bells! How are you honey?" she asked.

"Great Mom, how are you and Phil? All packed for Forks?"

She laughed "I think so, I hope I have enough warm clothes packed. I'm guessing it's pretty cold right now?" she questioned.

"You know it Mom, it's even snowing and it's so pretty" I told her.

She groaned. "So honey, you sound pretty happy, last time I checked you hated the snow" she said curiously.

"Oh you know it's Christmas..." Renee cut me off.

"Isabella it's a boy isn't it?" she asked excitedly.

"Maybe" I said coyly knowing full well my mother would be getting more and more impatient by the minute.

"Isabella Marie Swan" she warned me.

"Okay okay, yes it is" I exclaimed.

"Oh this is so exciting! Who is he?" she asked.

"It's Edward Cullen Mom" I told her.

She let out an Alice worthy squeal. "Since when? Are you two serious?"

"Since Saturday and yes" I gushed. I proceeded to tell her about Christmas dinner with the Cullen's, it was safe to say she beyond excited at being presented with the opportunity to meet Edward's family.

I heard a soft knock on my bedroom door and turned to see Edward standing there smiling.

"Hey Mom I gotta go, we will talk when we both arrive in Forks okay?"

"He's there isn't he?" she asked sounding pleased.

"Yup, see you Friday Mom, travel safe and don't forget anything" I teased.

"Ha ha, see you soon honey"

"Hi" I said excitedly once I had finished my call.

"Hey there" he said wrapping his arms around me, "Sorry to interrupt."

"No no it's fine it was just my Mom" I told him. "I told her about you, she's very excited"

He laughed "So packing are we?" he gestured to my suitcase.

"Hmmm, maybe you could help me?" I asked

"I think I could handle that" he said kissing me.

It was safe to say that we didn't get any of my packing done; I decided making out with Edward was a much more satisfying way to spend the afternoon.

The next day I was running around madly trying to pack my suitcase and get myself organised since we were leaving for Forks tomorrow.

"Left packing till the last minute too huh?" asked Alice with a smirk sitting down on my bed.

"Shut up Mary Alice!" I retorted throwing a pillow at her. She dodged it giggling.

"Let me help" she offered.

Between us we got my bags packed quickly leaving me time to call Charlie and Sue to talk to them about dinner with the Cullen's.

"Hello?" answered Charlie.

"Hey Dad, it's me Bella" I replied.

"Oh hey Bells, how's everything going?" he asked.

"Good, I'm almost packed for tomorrow and ummmm" I stalled.

"Spit it out Bells" Charlie said curiously.

"Okay, well I have some news. Ummm well you remember Edward Cullen from my birthday right?"

"Yes?" he questioned, "Wait a second, before you carry on is this good news or bad news?" he asked worriedly.

"Good news" I promised him, "Don't worry I'm not pregnant or anything" I joked.

"Phew, that's a relief" he muttered.

"Dad! You didn't seriously think that's what I was going to say did you?" I questioned horrified.

"Oh no no, of course not" he said a little too quickly.

I decided to let it pass, "Umm well yeah anyway we umm are kind of dating" I said in a rush.

"You can't be kind of dating Bells, are you or aren't you?" he asked.

"We are" I confirmed, "And anyway Edward's parents have invited the whole family around on Christmas night for dinner" I told him, "You know so we can all get to know each other and all that."

"Oh well that sounds like a great idea. I've met Edward's father Doctor Cullen a few times, he's a good man" he informed me.

"Great Dad, I'll let Edward know straight away"

"Oh Bells before you go. I'd like to meet this Edward boy again before Christmas day" he said gruffly. Damn! I thought I'd gotten away without him launching into the protective Dad role.

"Of course" I told him, "But anyway Dad I better get going, make sure I have everything ready for tomorrow you know?"

"Sure thing honey, see you tomorrow"

"Bye Dad" I replied ending the call.

In the morning Edward helped me pack my bags into the trunk of his Volvo and we set off relatively early.

We arrived in Forks in record time, Edward was like Alice, a fast driver, although he slowed down a little when I told him it made me anxious, what with being a Chiefs daughter and all.

When we pulled up outside Charlie and Sue's Edward seemed visibly nervous. "It'll be fine" I told him reassuringly.

He chuckled weakly "Let's just hope your Dad likes me and doesn't chase me off the property with one of his guns" he answered.

I laughed, "Don't worry he wouldn't dare, he wouldn't want to get into trouble with Sue."

We walked up the porch steps and through the front door. "Dad, Sue?" I called out.

"Bella!" cried Sue stepping out of the kitchen, "Oh it's so good to see you sweetie" she said hugging me.

"You too" I replied hugging her back. "Sue you remember Edward?" I asked.

"It's nice to see you again Edward" she said hugging him.

"And you" he replied with a smile.

"Come on through, Charlie's through in the living room" she said ushering us into the room.

Charlie jumped up from the couch "Welcome home Bells" he said enveloping me in a hug.

"Thanks Dad" I replied, "Dad, I'd like you to meet Edward Cullen" I said grabbing Edward's hand.

"Edward, nice to see you again" he said gruffly shaking Edward's hand.

"You too Sir" he replied earnestly.

"Call me Charlie" he said sounding impressed.

"Thanks Charlie" he replied, "Are you watching the Seahawks game?" he asked.

Charlie's eyes lit up; obviously he was excited to have someone to talk sports with. "I am, sit down son and I'll grab you a drink" he said pleased.

"I'll get it Dad" I said hurrying to the kitchen and grabbing the two beers Sue held out for me.

I handed them both a drink, "You don't mind me stealing Edward for a while do you Bells?" Charlie asked me.

I glanced at Edward he smiled at me encouragingly; "Sure" I said grinning, "I'll be in the kitchen with Sue". I walked back into the kitchen where Sue had poured us both a wine.

"It looks as though they are going to get on together just fine" Sue said smiling, "So how did you too get together?" she asked excitedly.

I filled her in on the story, she like Alice and Rose thought it was very romantic. I helped her prepare lunch as we chatted until we heard a car pull up outside.

"Hey Mom, Charlie?" called out Leah's voice.

"Kitchen honey" Sue called in reply.

"Bella!" Leah exclaimed running over to hug me.

"Hey Lee-lee!" I replied excitedly.

"Hey there sis!" Seth shouted pushing Leah aside.

"Hey there Seth, man I swear you get taller every time I see you!" I told him.

"Or maybe you just get smaller?" he retorted laughing.

"Oh ha ha" I said dryly. Just then we were joined by Charlie and Edward.

Introductions were made and Seth went into the living room with Edward and Charlie for male bonding time.

"Nice Bells, he is super hot!" Leah whispered excitedly.

I giggled filling her in on the story of how we got together after she demanded I tell her immediately.

After lunch Edward helped me take my bags up to my old room. "So this is your childhood bedroom huh?" he asked looking around.

"Well for the first few years and then in high school yeah" I replied "And you will be pleased to know you are the first boyfriend that's ever been allowed up here" I told him.

"Well I guess I should feel pretty special huh?" he asked smugly.

I laughed "You know it".

He stayed a while and helped me unpack before heading home to Port Angeles to get settled and see his family. I walked him out to the car.

"I'll call you tonight beautiful" he promised touching my cheek gently with his hand, "Can I come over tomorrow and pick you up so you can come over to my place?" he asked.

"I'd like that, but you know I can just drive myself so you don't have to come all this way. My old truck is here." I said gesturing to the huge Chevy truck parked in the car port.

He looked at it horrified, "Does it still run?" he asked sceptically.

"Of course it does!" I exclaimed, "Don't you hate on my truck" I told him.

He laughed "Sorry" he apologised "It really doesn't look like it would make it the whole way to Port Angeles."

I huffed, crossing my arms knowing full well he was probably right. It hadn't been serviced in years and I highly doubted Charlie ever drove it. "Fine" I pouted.

Chuckling he kissed me and said goodbye promising to see me tomorrow morning.

I spent the rest of the day helping Sue get the house tidy for Christmas and hanging out with Leah and Seth.

As promised Edward called me before bed to talk. It was good to hear his voice, I missed him already. He missed me too he told me and said it wasn't the same going to sleep without me.

It took me a long time to get to sleep that night and when I finally did I dreamed of Edward.

When I woke in the morning it was snowing once again. I looked out my bedroom window, all of the usual green was covered in a frosting of white and it really did look very pretty.

I was a little nervous knowing I was going to be meeting Edward's parents today. What if they didn't like me? If I wasn't what they expected?

The familiar smell of my strawberry shampoo helped to calm me down a little. But as soon as I returned to my room and opened my closet the nerves set in again.

What on earth was I going to wear? I stared into my closet for a while before I gave up and three-way called Alice and Rosalie and after ten minutes or so of deliberating my outfit was sorted.

I put on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a dark emerald green long sleeved top, with a zip front and little pockets on the chest. I put on a pair of black boots and threw my black leather jacket over the top. I pulled my hair into a pony tail and put on a little make up before heading downstairs.

"Morning Bells" Charlie greeted me.

"Morning Dad" I replied grabbing a bowl and filling it with cereal. "Where's Sue this morning?" I asked.

"She said she had some last minute gift shopping to do and that I had to stay home" he said chuckling. "So what are your plans for today? You look nice" he commented.

"Thanks Dad, Edward is going to pick me up soon and take me to meet his parents" I replied.

"Hmmm, speaking of Edward" he said putting down the news paper he had been reading.

"Yes?" I asked nervously.

"Don't look so worried Bells, he seems like a nice kid" he said.

"Oh" I sighed in relief, "He is Dad."

"Are you two pretty serious then?" he asked me seriously.

"Yes we are" I said honestly.

"So you like him quite a lot then?" he continued.

"Yeah Dad, I really do".

"Good, he's head over heels for you Bells" he said matter-of-factly. "We had a good chat yesterday."

I groaned "Dad you didn't threaten him did you?"

"I was on my best behaviour" he said drawing a halo in the air around his head.

Soon after I finished breakfast Edward arrived. "Dad, I'll see you later okay?" I called out as I went to meet Edward at the front door.

"Sure things Bells, you have fun" he replied.

"Hey there beautiful, I missed you" Edward greeted me with a kiss.

"I missed you too" I told him.

"Ready to meet my crazy family?" he asked.

"Sure" I said smiling nervously.

"Don't worry, they haven't met you but they already love you. By the way you look beautiful" he said kissing me again.

The ride didn't take long, probably due to the fact that I was so nervous. Edward could tell, he kept squeezing my hand to try to calm me down.

We pulled up a long winding driveway surrounded by forest. Before long a huge house came into view. **(Think the Cullen House in the movie).**

"Wow" I breathed ad we pulled up in front the house.

"You like it?" he asked nervously.

"Your house is amazing!" I exclaimed as he helped me out of the car.

He held my hand as we walked up the steps and through the front door. He led the way down the hallway, it was light and airy thanks to the large windows and there were some expensive looking paintings on the walls and into the kitchen.

A pretty bronze haired woman was standing at the kitchen counter mixing something in a bowl; she looked up as she heard us walk in and beamed at us. I could see where Edward got his bronze hair and emerald green eyes from.

"Mom I'd like you to meet Bella, Bella this is my Mom Esme" Edward said.

Esme walked around the counter towards us "It's a pleasure to meet you Bella" she said earnestly kissing me on the cheek and pulling me in for a hug. "I've heard so much about you, I'm so pleased you're here!"

"It's great to meet you too Mrs Cullen, thank you for having me here, you have an amazing home" I replied politely.

"Call me Esme dear, Mrs Cullen is my mother in law" she said with a wink. "Now your father was around here somewhere" she said frowning.

Just as she spoke a tall, handsome, blonde haired man walked into the room.

"Bella this is my father, Carlisle Cullen. Dad this is Bella Swan" Edward introduced us.

"Bella Swan" he said smiling striding forward and clasping my hand in his, "Its wonderful see you again, the last time I saw you you would have been about twelve years old, with a broken leg" he said amused.

I laughed, "I'm surprised you remembered me, it's nice to see you again too Dr Cullen."

"Call me Carlisle Bella" he replied kindly.

It was clear where Edward got his good looks from, both his parents were incredibly good looking and they looked far too young to have grown up children.

"Hey Bellsy!" boomed Emmett as he charged straight up to me and picked me up into a bear hug.

"Hey Em" I choked out.

"Emmett put the poor girl down she can barely breathe" scolded Esme.

"Ooops! Sorry Bells. Bet you have missed me though right little sis?" he asked with a wink.

"Of course Em, how could I not miss my big brother" I laughed.

He beamed proudly, Esme watching the scene with a smile on her face. Edward just shook his head. "Let me show you the rest of the house" he offered putting his arm around me.

"Oh they are so cute together!" I heard Esme squeal as we left the room.

"Your parents are really nice" I said as we walked up the stairs to the second level of the house.

'Thanks" he said laughing, "Charlie and Sue are great too by the way" he added. "Your Dad was really cool actually."

"He was on his best behaviour. But you will be pleased to know that he officially approves of you" I said with a smile.

After a tour of the house we hung out in Edward's room for a while. His room was huge, it had floor to ceiling windows just like the rest of the house.

It had a huge black iron bed covered with a gold comforter and the decor was fairly similar to the house in Seattle. He had far more music here though which filled the shelves that took up the majority of one of the walls.

After lunch with his family he took me through to the only room he hadn't yet shown me, his piano room.

His grand piano stood in the centre of the room; he walked up to it and sat down patting the bench beside him.

I went and joined him. "I promised you I would play you something" he said, "This is a song I wrote for my Mom".

The room filled with the beautiful sound of piano music, he was very good I mused as I watched his fingers move gracefully over the keys.

"That was beautiful" I remarked when he finished playing.

"I'm glad you like it" he said truthfully. "Can I play you one more song?" he asked.

"Go ahead" I smiled.

He began to play; the music started of slow and then picked up. You could hear the emotions the music was trying to convey so clearly.

As he played on the music became happier, lighter, it was amazing.

I wiped a tear from my eye when he stopped playing. "Edward that was just..." I couldn't get the right words out.

"I wrote that last night, it was inspired by you" he said softly his emerald gaze boring into mine.

"Me?" I asked shocked and then suddenly I remembered it was the same melody he had been humming to me over the last few weeks before I went to sleep.

"I called it Bella's Lullaby" he carried on.

My eyes filled with happy tears, no one had ever done anything so romantic for me in my whole life. "Edward, it's beautiful, thank you" I whispered hugging him tightly.

"Anything for you my Bella, anything" he whispered in response.

Esme invited me to stay for dinner so after a quick phone call to Charlie to let him know I would be late home I perched myself on a stool at the breakfast bar in the Cullen's kitchen beside Emmett.

"Can I help with anything?" I asked, Esme was preparing dinner with Edward's help.

"Thank you dear" Esme said "But I think we have it under control and besides you're a guest dear you just sit and relax" she said with a kind smile.

"Don't worry Bells, I'm not allowed to help either" said Emmett with a cheeky grin on his face.

"I wonder why that is" said Esme who was also grinning, she turned to me "When Emmett was about fifteen he decided to cook himself a snack after school" she explained.

"And he set fire to not only his snack but everything around the oven too" she shook her head. "He also has melted countless cooking utensils, ruined frying pans and when he was about five years old he put cat biscuits into some chocolate chip cookie batter I had made. Carlisle took a plate to work to share with his colleagues, they certainly got a surprise when they took a bite" she said laughing at the memory.

I joined in her laughter; I could certainly imagine Emmett doing something like that.

"Well I thought they tasted good" said Emmett huffily.

"Em you would eat anything anyone put in front of you, of course you'd think that!" laughed Edward.

"Oh laugh all you want little brother, I'll get my revenge" he said smiling evilly. "I'm sure Mom has some pretty embarrassing stories about you".

Esme laughed, "I certainly do but we will save those for later" she said winking at me.

When dinner was served we all sat in the dining room together, Esme had cooked the best lasagne I had ever tasted. The Cullen's continued their friendly banter while eating and asked me about myself too.

"So Bella how do you know Rosalie and Alice?" asked Esme.

"Well when I was fifteen I moved back to Forks to live with my Dad for a while since my Mom had just remarried and I kind of wanted to give them a bit of space. I met Alice on my first day at Forks High School, she walked up to me in the cafeteria when I was buying my lunch and introduced herself" I said smiling at the memory.

"She linked her arm through mine and told me she knew we would be great friend."

"That sure sounds like Alice" said Carlisle with a grin.

I nodded smiling "As for Rose, I met her through Alice. They immediately invited me over for a sleep over at Alice's the first weekend I was in Forks. We all became instant friends and have been ever since"

They asked me a little more about my childhood and family before Esme served dessert.

Later on that evening Edward announced he should probably get me home before Charlie sent out a search party. He was so worried that he would end up on Charlie's bad side it was rather amusing.

The drive home didn't take long, what with Edward's driving and the roads being so quiet. In no time Edward was pulling into Charlie's driveway, he stopped just behind his cruiser.

"So tomorrow I was going to drive down to La Push and catch up with my friends, I was wondering if you would want to come with me?" I asked him hopefully.

"I'd like that" he said, my favourite slightly crooked smile on his face.

"Shall I come and pick you up?" he asked glancing at my truck.

"Sure" I said "But I swear before we go back to Seattle I am going to take you for a drive in my truck just to prove to you it still works" I promised.

"Looking forward to it" he chuckled.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: I am so sorry for the lack of updates! Every time I tried to add this chapter it kept coming up with an error message, so I have waited patiently to have it fixed. Hope you all enjoy Edward and Bella's first Christmas together.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, sigh. But the wonderful SM does.**

**Chapter songs: Let it Snow, We Wish You a Merry Christmas**

Late the next morning Edward and I drove towards the coast, to the La Push reservation.

"Did you spend a lot of time there when you lived in Forks?" Edward asked me, keeping his eyes on the slippery road. There had been a fresh dumping of snow last night.

"Umm yeah quite a bit, Charlie's best friend lives there so I used to come along with him sometimes to visit Jake" I told him.

"Is Jake the Jacob I met at your birthday?" he asked me.

"The one and only, Jacob Black, along with Allie and Rosie he was one of my first friends here" I answered.

"He seemed like a pretty cool guy" he replied.

About ten minutes later we pulled up outside the Black's house, it looked exactly as it always had I thought happily. Nothing had changed since the first time I had come here as a child spending my Christmas breaks in Forks with Charlie.

The wooden boards of the house were still the same weather beaten red colour, the garden filled with wildflowers and Jake's workshop, which was two tin sheds joint together, out the back.

We got out of the car and the front door of the house opened immediately.

"Bells!" cried Jacob happily striding across the small front yard to give me a bone crushing hug.

"Hey Jake!" I replied happily, "Hey do you remember Edward?" I asked him taking a step back to stand beside Edward.

Jacob's smile quickly disappeared. "Yeah, hey man how are you?" Jake asked coldly holding out his hand for Edward to shake.

"Good thanks, it's nice to meet you again" he said shaking Jake's hand.

I frowned at Jake's reaction, maybe I should have told him that Edward was coming with me today. I was puzzled I really didn't think it would have been a problem.

Jake grinned at me "Come on inside, I know Billy will be dying to see you again Bells" he said ignoring Edward and leading us up the porch steps and into the house.

I wonder what's wrong with him, I thought frowning again.

"Hey Dad, look who it is" Jake called out.

Billy wheeled himself out of the kitchen and into the small living room. "Bella, it's good to see you again" he said smiling.

"And you Billy" I said grinning, "Billy I'd like you to meet Edward Cullen."

"Nice to meet you Mr Black" said Edward shaking Billy's hand.

"Call me Billy" he said with a crinkle eyed smile.

Edward took a step back to stand beside me and enveloped my hand in his.

Both Jacob and Billy glanced at our intertwined hands, well more like Jake glared "Got some news for us huh Bells?" asked Billy with a grin.

I laughed; Billy seemed genuinely thrilled at the news where as Jacob smiled a tight, fake smile at me.

After a catch up with Billy we headed over to Sam and Emily's where Jake said the rest of the gang were hanging out.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with my La Push friends, Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Quil, Embry and of course Jacob. Luckily for me Edward got along well with all of them, this was something Jake didn't seem thrilled about.

I soon forgot about Jake's weird reaction this morning and his coldness towards Edward as the day wore on.

"We were planning on having a bonfire down at the beach on Boxing Day night, can we count on you two being there?" Paul asked us.

"Definitely" I nodded, "Do you want to come?" I asked Edward.

"Sounds great" he replied smiling.

"Okay so count us both in" I told Paul, "Would you mind if Rose, Alice, Emmett and Jasper came along too?" I asked.

"Sure the more the merrier" Quil butted in, "Leah and Seth are going to be there too" he informed me.

"Ah it'll be just like the old days, the whole gang together again" sighed Paul.

"The old days?" snorted Quil, "You sound like an old man Paul! We did the same thing last year, don't you remember?" he teased.

"Shut up you idiot" replied Paul throwing one of Emily's couch cushions at Quil's head.

That night Edward stayed and had dinner with Charlie, Sue, Leah, Seth and I. Sue had cooked up some fish that Charlie had caught on his latest fishing expedition.

"Did you have fun visiting Jake and the gang?" asked Charlie looking up from his dinner.

"Yeah it was great, they invited us to the bonfire on Boxing Day evening" I replied before taking another bite of my dinner. The mention of Jake got me thinking again about how he had acted today. It was pretty unlike Jake, normally he was a perpetually happy person who got along well with everyone.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Seth interrupting my thoughts, "I was hoping you were gonna be there" he told us.

"Wouldn't miss it" I replied with a smile.

In the morning I woke early, it was Christmas Eve already! I headed downstairs to help Sue finish off the preparations for tomorrow before getting showered and changed to head to the airport to pick up Renee and Phil.

I grabbed the keys to my truck off the hook beside the phone hoping that it would still start. I climbed up into the cab inhaling the familiar scent of peppermint, gasoline and tobacco that even after all these years still hadn't faded.

I stuck the key in the ignition and turned it slowly. To my delight it started on my first attempt, the roar of the engine just as loud as I remembered.

It felt so good to be driving my truck again, it may be old but I still loved it. I chugged down the highway towards the airport thankful that Charlie had put chains on the wheels for me last night.

I reached the airport a lot slower than I would have if I had driven my ford but that didn't matter. I sat down in the arrivals lounge and waited for the connecting flight from Seattle to land.

When I saw their flight had landed and passengers were making their way through the gates I jumped up to search for Renee and Phil.

I spotted them easily "Hey honey!" cried Renee as she reached me, she hugged me and kissed my cheek.

"Hey Mom, hey Phil" I answered, "How was the flight?"

"It was good, but we are glad to be here now!" she said excitedly.

We found their bags and headed to the car park where my truck was waiting.

"Does that thing still drive?" Renee asked in amazement. When I sent her photos of when I first moved here she couldn't believe the car Charlie had gotten me, I remember her saying it was far too old for me to be driving.

"Yes" I said proudly, "And it's not a thing!" I retorted throwing their bags in the back and pulling the cover over the flat bed. Good old Charlie, he always thought of everything.

As we drove the familiar road home to Forks Renee and Phil took in the scenery "Wow I forgot how green it was" remarked Renee.

I laughed "Hasn't changed much has it?" I replied.

"It sure hasn't" she said shaking her head.

We drove straight to the Bed and Breakfast they were staying at and unloaded their luggage and then we made our way through town to Charlie and Sue's.

"Renee! Phil!" exclaimed Sue as we walked into the kitchen where she was baking cookies for tomorrow. "It's wonderful to see you both again" she said warmly.

"And you!" Renee replied excitedly. "Thank you so much for having us this year" she added.

"It's no problem at all, it's just nice to have the whole family together" she smiled.

Charlie came into the kitchen and greeted them and then he and Phil disappeared into the living room to watch whatever game was playing.

As soon as the men had left the room Renee's questioning began. She was beyond delighted about Edward and I getting together.

"So where is Edward today Bella honey?" she asked.

"Oh he's spending a bit of time with his family this morning but he'll be here later" I told her.

The rest of the morning was spent getting reacquainted and of course being endlessly questioned by Renee. Edward still wasn't here and I was getting impatient.

I missed him much more than I could ever have imagined when he wasn't around. I was fairly certain I knew what the feelings I was having meant but it was too early in our relationship to start with those kinds of declarations.

As I pondered this I must have been so deep in thought that I didn't hear the knock at the front door.

"Bella?" called Sue as she walked up the stairs to my room, "Edward's here."

I jumped off my bed and hurried down stairs. I found him being smothered by Renee.

When he saw me walk into the room his eyes lit up and my favourite smile crossed his face.

"Hey beautiful" he said embracing me, "I missed you" he added whispering in my ear.

My face flushed with pleasure "I missed you too" I replied.

As we pulled apart I heard Sue and Renee sigh, "Ah young love" Renee said smiling wistfully.

Internally I panicked a little when she said the L word around Edward, to my intense relief he just chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"So my Bella what did you want to do today?" he asked me.

I paused for moment, I had no idea. All I knew was that I wanted to spend the whole day with him preferably alone. I really didn't care what we did.

We ended up hanging out in my room for a while. It was a good thing Charlie was so absorbed in the game on TV today otherwise he probably would have pitched a fit. In some ways he was so old fashioned and I had to remind him frequently that I wasn't a child anymore.

"You and Jacob seem to be pretty good friends huh?" Edward asked as we both lay on the bed, him drawing patterns on the palm of my hand.

"Yeah, he's one of my best friends" I replied honestly, "He's like a brother to me really" I added.

"Hmmmmm" he replied thoughtful.

"Why do you ask?" I asked curiously.

"You two never dated?" he asked frowning.

"No way!" I replied a little louder than before, "Ew like I said, he's like a brother to me" I said shaking my head. I couldn't imagine a world where Jake and I would date; he was so much like the big brother I never had, like Emmett. It would be beyond wrong.

"The only reason I ask is because I think Jacob's feelings for you extend beyond friendship" he finished ignoring my little outburst.

I stared at him wide eyed and confused "What are you talking about?" I asked slowly trying to understand what he was getting at.

"Well he didn't look exactly happy when you told him and Billy about us" he said, "We got along so well at your party because he didn't see me as a threat then, but now" he trailed off.

I continued to stare at him; it would explain why he was so cold towards Edward this afternoon and why he looked so unhappy when I told him the news. He couldn't think that could he? I thought horrified; Jake has always known it was just friendship on my side hadn't he?

"I've also seen the way he looks at you Bella. You can't tell me you haven't noticed" he continued.

That was the thing, I hadn't ever noticed. I shook my head "No that can't be it, Jake doesn't have those kind of feelings for me" I replied.

Later that night after Edward had left I lay in bed pondering what we had talked about earlier. He was wrong; Jake didn't have those kind of feelings for me, I mean we had been friends for years and he had never given me any indication that he had feelings for me. But what if he does? What would that mean for our friendship? I pushed these thoughts aside; I decided there was no point over thinking something that probably wasn't even true.

When I woke the next morning it was cloudy as usual but over night there had been another big snowfall covering every inch of the ground and the forest surrounding the house in white.

I checked my phone on my night stand to already find messages from Edward, Emmett, Alice, Rose and Jasper wishing me a Merry Christmas and that we would all see each other later.

After showering and getting dressed in jeans and a long sleeved top I headed downstairs to where I could already hear a chatter of excited voices.

A chorus of Merry Christmas greeted me as I entered the room and sat down at the crowed dining table. Sue had once again outdone herself with a full cooked breakfast, Charlie's favourite.

"Right" said Sue as the last plate had been cleared, "Time for presents" she announced ushering us all into the living room.

We all took turns at giving out our gifts, Charlie and Sue went first. They gave me some bath and beauty products and some CD's and books I had wanted for a while.

Next was Renee and Phil, they got me a new watch, some clothes that looked far too expensive and a brand new Ipod. Leah and Seth had pooled their funds and bought me this really cool family tree sculpture with little frames with family photos and a foot spa that I had been wanting for ages.

The rest of the day went by quickly and before I knew it two o'clock rolled around. I ran upstairs to quickly get changed into something a little dressier and went to help pack up the cars to head to Port Angeles for dinner with the Cullen's, Brandon's, Whitlock's and the Hale's.

I drove my truck accompanied by Leah and Seth while the rest all drove in Charlie's cruiser.

An hour or so later we pulled up outside the Cullen's house. "Wow, their house is amazing" commented Leah as I parked the truck.

I laughed remembering I had had the same reaction, "I know!" I replied.

Esme and Carlisle were at the door to greet us, "Merry Christmas dear" she said hugging me tightly.

"Merry Christmas Esme" I replied smiling.

"Merry Christmas Bella" smiled Carlisle who also stepped forward to hug me "It's wonderful to have you here" he told me.

I stepped back and introduced my family to Esme and Carlisle. "Esme, Carlisle, this is my Mom Renee and her husband Phil, my Dad Charlie and his wife Sue and Leah and Seth" I said gesturing to each person in turn.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you all" gushed Esme as they all got acquainted.

"Please come in" said Carlisle warmly ushering us towards the living room, "Now the Hale's and Brandon's are on their way so they should be here soon" he told me walking beside me. "I'll warn you now, Emmett is pretty excited as you can imagine" he laughed.

I joined in his laughter "Of course he is."

We walked into the living room and Edward jumped up immediately making his way over to me. "Merry Christmas beautiful" he said before kissing me.

"Merry Christmas" I replied happily.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS BELLSY!" yelled Emmett launching himself towards me and pulling me into a huge bear hug.

"Merry Christmas Em!" I replied enthusiastically as he set me back down on the ground.

"Hey Bells, Merry Christmas!" cried Jasper hugging me far more gently than Emmett had.

"Hey Jazz, same to you!" I smiled. I turned and saw Renee smiling happily at the exchanges between my friends and me.

Jasper went on to introduce me to his parents Lyall and Elizabeth Whitlock. Elizabeth looked a lot like Esme with the same beautiful shade of bronze hair and Lyall was a typical southern gentleman.

Twenty or so minutes later Alice and Rose announced their arrival "Bella!" squealed Alice pulling an Emmett like manoeuvre and running at me full speed and tackling me in a hug.

"Merry Christmas Allie!" I laughed, "Merry Christmas Rose!"

"It feels like ages since we have all hung out" Rose said as we hugged.

"I know I've missed you guys!" I exclaimed.

Next in line to greet were Alice's parents Darryl and Jennifer and her younger sister Cynthia who could almost pass as Alice's twin followed by Ian, Lillian and Henry Hale.

"Have you had a good day so far?" Edward asked me kissing my hair and pulling me into his arms when I had managed to break away from the crowd.

"I have, but it just got a whole lot better" I sighed happily snuggling close to him.

He captured my face between his hands and bent down to kiss me.

"Save it for later!" shouted Emmett loudly making me blush.

"Way to ruin the moment Em, thanks" said Edward sarcastically.

Emmett just laughed punching Edward in the arm "That's what I'm here for little brother" he replied. "Now I reckon we should introduce little Bella here to a Cullen/Whitlock family tradition" he said putting an arm around me.

"Should I be worried?" I asked Edward.

"It depends, what are you talking about Emmett?" he asked exasperated.

"The traditional Cullen/Whitlock snowball fight you idiot!" exclaimed Emmett excitedly.

We all got bundled up and headed outside. "Since we have even numbers this year what do you think about girls versus guys?" he asked Jasper.

Jasper paused "Good plan" he said with a knowing look and a glint in his eye.

They both grinned at each other "This is going to be awesome" Emmett exclaimed.

Leah, Rose, Alice and I stood together with identical apprehensive looks on our faces. "Good thing I knew this would happen and came prepared" Alice remarked. Obviously Jasper had pre-warned her about a Christmas Day snow ball fight so she bought a warm set of clothes for each of us girls to wear so we could change back into our dry dressy clothes afterwards.

"Nice job on that Allie" remarked Rose watching the guys debating the rules of today's game with narrowed eyes.

"Okay" announced Emmett breaking away from the others. "So the teams are Rosie, Bella, Alice and Leah versus me, Jasper, Ed and Seth obviously. The object is to take down the enemy and no snow balls to the face" he said "Back of the head is fine though" he added with a grin.

Great, knowing my luck I would almost certainly be the only one to get hit in the back of the head I thought.

"Now teams assemble and discuss strategies" he ordered huddling the others together.

Rose looked at him with one eyebrow raised "I bet he's up to no good" she said.

"Of course he is" Alice agreed. "We will just have to outsmart them" she said with a glint in her eye. "I know of a few places we can hide and prepare a stash of snow balls to attack them with" she said lowering her voice.

"Alright" yelled Emmett after a few minutes "Girls get to go and into position, you have two minutes" he boomed.

Alice and Leah took off in one direction while Rose and I headed the other way. We found the spot Alice told us about and frantically began making a stock pile of snow balls.

"Trust me they will not find us here" Rose told me with a smirk, I giggled.

"Here they come" whispered Rose ducking down so she was hidden and grabbing a huge snow ball. "This one has Emmett's name written all over it" she said grinned evilly.

I grabbed another and we got into position so we could see them but they couldn't see us.

"On three" Rose told me. We both launched our snow balls at Em and Jazz. By some miracle I actually hit my target, I got Jasper right in the back and Rose got Emmett in the back of the head.

"What the fuck!" exclaimed Emmett loudly "Where did that come from?" he asked Jasper whirling around trying to spot us. Maybe this would be more fun than I initially thought.

"Man I have no idea" said Jasper quickly rolling up a snow ball and looking around.

I bit my lip to prevent myself from bursting into laughter. "That'll teach him for saying back of the head is fine" she grinned and launched another snow ball hitting Emmett on the leg.

"That way!" he cried pointing in the opposite direction and charging off firing random snowballs.

"Idiots" laughed Rose, "Come on Bells let's sneak around to where Alice and Leah are and ambush Em and Jazz again."

As we sneakily made our way towards Alice and Leah's hiding spot. "There you are!" Alice whispered excitedly.

"Quick here come Jazz and Edward" she said grabbing a snowball. She jumped up and launched it at Jasper hitting him on the top of his head.

Edward threw a few snow balls our way hitting Alice and she shrieked giving us all away.

From there it was all out war and half an hour later we were all freezing cold and Emmett was covered in melting snow.

"I think it's safe to say you girls won" Jasper puffed trying to catch his breath in the cold air "Next time I am definitely on your team" he added.

"You Jasper Whitlock are a traitor!" exclaimed Emmett "We wouldn't have lost if you didn't turn on me after I accidently hit you with that snow ball."

Jasper winced "You hit me in the nuts Em!" he retorted clearly still not over it, "It was a low blow" he added.

"Literally" laughed Rose and we all joined in making our way inside.

After getting changed and warming up Esme announced that dinner was ready, so we all made our way into the huge dining room where she had set their huge table to fit all of us.

Dinner was delicious, Esme had outdone herself. There were several huge turkeys, with stuffing, plate after plate of roast vegetables, peas, corn cobs and carrots and all the other usual trimmings.

When dinner was over, which was not surprisingly a rather long occasion considering Emmett had about four helpings of everything, we made our way to their enormous sitting room for coffee, desert and present opening.

They had a huge Christmas tree which dominated a corner of the room, Esme I presumed had decorated it to perfection in red and gold with twinkling lights.

"Open mine and Rosie's first Bells" Emmett demanded shoving a package into my hands. I tore off the paper; it was a new car stereo.

"Thanks guys, this is really great" I told them enthusiastically.

"Well little Bells your stereo does suck" Emmett told me laughing.

Rose had also gotten me some cool jewellery to go with it. Alice and Jasper handed out their gifts next.

I un-wrapped the perfectly wrapped gift, which was no doubt Alice's handiwork. "Man Allie this is kinda heavy" I commented struggling with the box while ripping at the paper.

Once I had torn off the paper I read the label on the box. "You got me a margarita machine?" I asked excitedly.

Alice nodded looking pleased with herself "I saw it a few months ago and thought it was perfect, I'm glad you like it." To go with it her and Jasper had got some cocktail mixers and a few bottle or two of tequila.

Esme and Carlisle got me a few trinkets as did the Brandon's and the Hale's. Next was Edward's turn.

He handed me the first gift and I ripped off the paper, inside was a square box. I opened it with nervous anticipation. Inside was a silver charm bracelet with a crystal heart charm on it.

"Oh Edward it's so pretty!" I cried, "Thank you". He smiled widely and helped me fasten it around my wrist.

"So you like it?" he asked anxiously

I turned my wrist watching the light reflect off the charm, "Its perfect" I said happily. He also got me a few other little gifts to go with it.

"Bella this is great!" he said hugging me after opening the CD's and concert tickets for his favourite band I had managed to get hold. Along with that I had gotten him a few shirts and other bits and pieces.

Later on that evening we were sitting wrapped up in a blanket on a swinging seat on the Cullen's back porch which was decorated in fairly lights and it was snowing lightly.

"Thank you Edward, this was the perfect Christmas" I sighed snuggling closer to him.

He chuckled "I second that. I'm just glad I got to spend it with you" he replied kissing my hair.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: This chapter didn't end up turning out how I had initially planned it but I am definitely happy with the way it turned out!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, I just like to let my imagination run wild with her characters**

**Chapter songs: What Part of Forever – Cee-Lo Green, Done all Wrong – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club**

Boxing Day had arrived after the best Christmas ever by far. Waking up in the morning I was super excited about the upcoming Bonfire Party that we were all going to tonight down on the reservation. It had been years since I had been at the last one.

My phone beeped at me letting me know I had a message, the first was from Edward letting me know he couldn't wait to see me this afternoon which put a huge grin on my face. After replying to his message I checked the second. It was Jake.

I pressed the call back button; "Hey Bells" answered Jake's husky voice.

"Hi Jake what's up?" I asked him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out for a bit this morning. If you're free that is" he asked with just a trace of bitterness in his tone.

"Sure I'm always free to hang out with my bestie" I replied "I have to be home round lunch because Edward and the gang will be here but I'm free all morning. How bout I make my way to yours?"

"Okay Bells sounds good" he said happily "I'll see you soon."

I got dressed quickly and made my way downstairs, after a rushed breakfast I made my way out to my truck and started the engine.

The drive to La Push was quick; the roads were fairly quiet since it was still early. The snow had melted a little making the road a little easier for my truck to handle.

Soon enough I pulled up outside the Black's house and Jacob walked out to greet me. "Hey Bells" he said smiling, he definitely seemed happier than yesterday.

"Hey Jake, Merry Christmas" I replied.

"Same to you!" he added cheerily "here this is for you" he said handing me a small wrapped gift.

"Aw Jake thank you, I got you something too" I replied handing him his gift.

We opened our gifts at the same time; mine was a dream catcher "to make sure you always have sweet dreams" he said with a grin and his model car of the very first car her had ever built.

"Bells, this is awesome!" he exclaimed happily. "You remembered what model it was and everything."

"Of course I did" I said proudly, "So what did you want to do today?" I asked.

"Maybe we could go for a walk? I know it's pretty cold but you seen prepared" he added cheekily gesturing at my thick coat, scarf and gloves.

"Still getting used to the cold weather smart arse" I replied laughing.

We made our way down the familiar track to First Beach; it reminded me of all the times we would go down there growing up, for bonfires or sometimes a swim if we were feeling brave.

We settled on the same old tree branch we had always sat on and chatted easily for a while.

"So Quil, Embry and I are going to be moving to Seattle in January" he said smiling widely at me.

"Are you serious? It's definite now?" I asked barely able to contain my excitement. He nodded still grinning. "That's so awesome Jake!" I cried giving him a one armed hug.

"I know, it's gonna be great" he said enthusiastically. We talked about his plans and how good it would be to be able to hang out more. It'd be so easy to integrate him into our little family.

Then after a while he went unusually quiet and stared out at the ocean. "Bells" he said huskily shifting his gaze from the choppy black water back to me. He looked uncomfortable "I kinda wanted to talk to you about something else too" he said.

"Spit it out" I smiled using the very same phrase he always used. That made him smile.

"Umm well shit!" he exclaimed. "I figured I would be able to do this so much smoother. I kind of have been meaning to tell you this for a while" he said nervously. "I was trying to figure out a way to say it but there's no time for planning now, I have to say it before I miss my chance."

I was curious now and a little worried considering the conversation Edward and I had had about Jake on Christmas Eve.

"Bells I'm in love with you. I always have been" he blurted out.

I froze, this could not be happening. I pinched myself discreetly to make sure this wasn't some bizarre dream.

"Bells I know that you and Edward are together but I had to tell you in case it changed things, in case you felt the same" he continued with a little more confidence.

I still couldn't move or speak, I knew what I would eventually have to say would break Jacob's heart. He moved closer to me, obviously he was mistaking my reaction for good instead of bad.

"I mean I know that you and Edward are together but really you did it to make me jealous right?" he asked smugly.

Fuck, this could not be happening. I still couldn't manage to shake off the shock of his confession to be able to speak. He put his arm around me, turned my face to his and began to lower his face to mine. A wave of realisation hit me, he really thought that my silence meant I felt the same, he was about to kiss me! I jumped up quickly completely horrified.

"Jacob" I choked out.

"Bella I know, you don't have to say anything" he said his face softening as he stood up and stepped towards me.

"Nnnoo" I stuttered taking a step back. "I don't..."

Jacob cut me off "Bells, you don't need to worry or feel bad about your feelings for me. Edward will understand..."

"No!" I said a little louder finally finding my voice, Jacob looked confused.

""I'm sorry Jake" I whispered, "I don't, I mean" I really didn't want to do this, to hurt him the way I was about to. Damn it why couldn't he have just left things the way they were. We were good as friends, great even, it was so much easier.

Hurt flashed across his eyes as he realised what was about to happen. "Jake I'm so sorry" I whispered again, "But I don't feel the same."

As quick as the hurt had come on it was replaced by anger. "Bella, we would be so good together and you know it" he said raising his voice. He looked intimidating standing at his full height in front of me with his arms crossed.

I shook my head "No Bella you listen to me, this thing you have with Edward it won't be as deep as what we could have" he said his tone softening as he stepped forward and took my hand. "It would be as easy as breathing, I know you better than anyone else knows you."

I began to panic, why he wasn't listening, understanding what I was saying. "He's my whole world now" I said trying to keep the tears at bay, "Edward means everything to me, I'm falling for him Jake, fast. He's all I'll ever want."

"Falling?" he questioned, "In love?"

I nodded, Jacob's face crumpled "I'm sorry Jake, so sorry" I cried. He ripped his hand from mine.

"You gave me so many mixed signals" he fumed "And before you ask, don't worry no one knows I was going to tell you this" he spat.

I stood there horrified; I couldn't believe he thought that of all things was what I was worried about. "I wasn't going to ask" I said in a quiet voice "I'm so sorry Jacob. Please tell me we can still be friends?" I pleaded.

"I don't know anymore" he choked, his anger had faded now he just looked devastated.

Tears were now flowing freely down my face "I'm sorry" I choked out one last time before I fled.

I stumbled along the path miraculously not falling despite being blinded by tears. When I reached the Black's house I wrenched the door of my truck open and threw myself into the driver's seat. Fumbling with my keys I finally managed to get the engine started and I sped away as fast as my truck could manage. I didn't look back.

I had no idea how I managed to drive home in the state I was in, but somehow I made it. Luckily for me Sue and Charlie had taken Renee and Phil out for the day so I had the house to myself.

I went straight upstairs and sat down on my bed. I felt awful, I had just broken my best friend's heart. I began to question myself in my despair. Had I given him the wrong impression all these years, led him on perhaps? I couldn't think of a time when I had acted like anything more than a friend.

I didn't realise how long I had been agonising over what happened when I heard a knock at the door. I made my way downstairs as quickly as I could and tried to compose myself as I opened the door.

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed, but then she saw my face. "Honey what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Apparently I didn't have a handle on my emotions as well as I thought I did.

"Babe what happened?" asked Rose putting her arm around me and leading me inside closing the front door behind her.

They led me through to the living room and sat me down on the couch flanking me. "I went to visit Jacob" I said dejectedly. They both looked confused.

"Did you two have a fight?" asked Alice gently.

"Kind of" I whispered. "It's more than that. He kind of told me he loves me."

"What the fuck?" exclaimed Rose.

"He what?" asked Alice in disbelief. "I think you are going to have to start at the beginning honey."

"I guess that's the best place to start" I said sadly. I launched into my story, sensing my need to get the whole thing off my chest neither of them interrupted me.

"He has some nerve putting all of this on you" Rose fumed.

"But maybe he's right, what if I did give him mixed signals."

"Isabella Marie you didn't do anything of the sort" Alice said firmly, "Rose is absolutely right, he has no right to pin his mistake on you."

"I can't believe he said he didn't know if you could still be friends. You two are like family, I'm pretty sure both Billy and Charlie are gonna notice if Jacob suddenly doesn't want anything to do with you" Rose vented.

Before Alice could open her mouth to back up Rose's comment we heard the familiar rumble of Emmett's hummer as it parked up outside.

"Okay Bells, we are going to take Em and Jazz to get lunch and a few DVD's so you can have a little time with Edward to tell him what happened. He will totally notice you are upset" said Alice taking charge.

"Thanks Allie" I replied gratefully, "Could you fill them in on what happened too?"

"Sure thing honey" she replied giving me a quick hug and getting up and walking to the front door with Rose.

"Hey ladies!" boomed Emmett as she opened the door, "Where's Bells?" I heard him ask.

"Living room, listen lets go get some food and a couple of DVD's and give the love birds a little time alone" I heard Rose reply.

"Ah got it" said Emmett in a knowing tone.

"See you soon" Alice called closing the front door.

"Hey beautiful" Edward said as he entered the room, when he saw me the smile on his face quickly disappeared. "Bella what's wrong?" he asked his voice full of concern, as he sat down next to me on the sofa.

I took a deep breath, "I went to visit Jacob today" I told him sounding as dejected as I felt.

"What happened?" he asked.

I groaned putting my head in my hands "He told me something, something I wasn't expecting. Something you won't like"

Edward gently reached for my hand, "You can tell me anything Bella, anything" he said gently.

"You were right, well kind of right" I said wincing hoping he would catch on.

He frowned, suddenly recognition spread across his face, "Ah so he does have a crush on you then?" he asked with a small smile.

"It's worse than that" I whispered, "He told me he's in love with me."

Edward stared at me, not moving, "I told him I didn't feel that way about him. Edward I broke his heart. He doesn't even want to be friends anymore." My voice broke at that point as my emotions got the better of me.

His expression softened, "I'm sure that's not true sweetheart, give him time" he reassured me.

I shook my head "I've never seen him so angry."

"He got mad at you?" he asked incredulous.

I nodded, "He said I had led him on all these years, he had convinced himself that I felt the same."

Edward now looked furious but I could tell he was trying to keep it under control for my sake. "Is that what he said to you?"

"Yes, he blamed it all on me. But I swear I never ever gave him that impression" I told him worried he would think I had.

"I know you wouldn't Bella" Edward told me. "Its okay babe you don't need to worry. Jacob will just have to get over it, like I said give him time."

"I guess we shouldn't go tonight, it'll be awkward."

"Did he tell you that you shouldn't go? Will your friends side with him and take it out on you?" Edward asked before pressing his lips into a firm line, I could see the irritation in his eyes.

"No no he didn't, he said he hadn't told any of the others" I said quickly.

"Don't you think though that if we don't go they'll all wonder why then?" he asked.

I paused he did have a good point. If we didn't go they were bound to get suspicious and call to find out why.

Edward smiled at me "We'll go, it'll be fine. I won't let him treat you the way he did this afternoon ever again sweetheart" he said softly. "Come here" he said pulling me into his lap and kissing me chastely on the lips.

Hanging out with the gang and Edward definitely helped my mood and mentally prepared me for seeing Jacob tonight. I knew it'd be awkward but I didn't see how that could be helped. At least he hadn't told any of our La Push friends what had happened, if he had I knew I wouldn't be able to face them out of guilt.

I hated that I had hurt Jacob but it was better he knew the truth, I wondered if he was still going to move to Seattle with Quil and Embry or whether he had only made that decision because he thought we would be a couple by then.

I still couldn't quite get my head around it, to me it didn't make any sense but then Jacob had always been a little strange.

All afternoon and on the ride to La Push I was quiet, trying to think things through in my head and trying to figure out what to say to Jacob if he approached me. Edward and the others didn't try to distract me and for that I was glad it gave me time to get ready mentally.

When Emmett pulled his hummer into the car park at First Beach I felt a little sick but I forced myself to step out of the car.

Edward grabbed my hand and we walked down the familiar path to the beach where the others had already got the bonfire started. The blue flames that the salty driftwood created were crackling happily and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy.

"Yo Bella!" yelled Quil making his way over to me "Glad you could make it" he said to me and the group with a huge smile.

"Wouldn't miss it" I replied cracking a smile, you couldn't help but feel happy when Quil was around.

Quil lead us over the fire where the others were seated on huge drift wood logs that were positioned around the fire the same way as they had been for years.

After saying hellos I went and sat with Paul and Sam and Edward joined me. Rose and Alice sat with Emily and Kim to catch up on all the gossip I knew I would hear later and Jazz and Em were joking around with Quil and Embry.

I knew Jacob was sitting around the fire somewhere but I didn't want to catch his eye so I struck up a conversation with Paul.

"So Bells, off the market are we?" he asked with a wink, he must have seen Edward and I holding hands when we arrived.

"Ah so you noticed" I teased "Yeah I am" I told him gazing at Edward affectionately as he chatted to Sam.

"You seem happy" he remarked, "I'm glad."

"Aw gee Paul I hope you aren't going all soft on me" I teased him.

He laughed loudly "Any lovely ladies you have your eye on?" I asked.

"Hmmmm well now that you're taken I guess I'll have to start looking" he said winking again. With Paul I knew this was a joke and but I still felt uneasy, I hoped Jacob didn't hear that comment so I just laughed it off.

"Just kidding and no, just living the bachelor lifestyle" he said proudly.

"Oh right I'm sure" I replied, "You know if you lived in Seattle Alice would probably set you up" I told him.

"Really?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes really, whether you wanted to be or not."

"Maybe I'll have to talk to her about that later" he informed me, "Looks like we'll be neighbours soon, well not literally but you know what I mean."

"Are you moving to Seattle?" I asked him excitedly.

He grinned "Sure am! With Quil and Embry, Jake decided just today that now wasn't the right time to move, he doesn't want to leave Billy on his own just yet."

I frowned at that comment; I was certain that wasn't Jacob's reason for staying behind in La Push. But he had stayed true to his word; he hadn't said a thing to any of his friends about what happened.

I quickly smiled hoping he hadn't seen my frown, "Paul that's awesome!"

"I know, you lot will have to take us out when we get there, show us the city lights!"

My conversation with Paul was cut short by the announcement that the food was ready, Jared and Embry had cooked a heap of meat on an old barbeque and Emily had provided sides.

We all grabbed a plate and helped ourselves. As I was dishing myself some salad Jacob came to fill up his plate.

"Hi Bella" he greeted me with a strained smile; I could see the hurt swimming in his dark eyes. Before I could open my mouth to reply he moved away to sit down with Jared and Kim.

Sighing I went and sat down with Edward and the gang. They all looked at me when I sat down.

"You okay Bells?" asked Jasper beating the others to the punch, "What'd he say?"

"Just hi, he walked away before I could reply" I told them.

"Don't worry bout it Bellsy" said Em patting my back. "Least the food is good" he mumbled happily as he stuffed his mouth with potato salad.

"Emmett!" scolded Rose hitting the back of his head, "Don't be insensitive."

We all laughed; you could always count on Emmett to lighten the mood and Rose to keep him in line.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Jacob for the rest of the night; he did a pretty good job at avoiding me. Thankfully no one noticed.

We headed for home just after midnight, the events of the day had taken their toll on me and I fell asleep with my head resting on Edward's shoulder.

"Time to wake up sleeping beauty" he said softly in my ear as the car pulled to a stop.

"Oh!" I woke with a start, I looked out the window, we were parked in Charlie's driveway just behind his cruiser.

I bid the others good night and Edward helped me out of the car and to the front door.

"Goodnight beautiful, I'll see you tomorrow' he said before kissing me softly on the lips. "Sweet dreams."

Four days later we were getting ready to head home to Seattle, Renee and Phil had left the day before to make a trip to visit Phil's family in California.

I still hadn't spoken to Jacob and it was not from lack of trying on my part. I called him every day and had sent him a few text messages, but he wouldn't answer.

I had been forced come to terms with the fact that that friendship had officially ended. I wasn't happy about it but it was out of my control.

Edward and Charlie were helping me carry my bags out to the Volvo to pack them into the trunk when I heard the familiar noise of a motorcycle engine.

I looked up and sure enough it was Jacob pulling into Charlie's drive behind his crusier. I glanced at Edward and Charlie.

Charlie had a disapproving look on his face, being a cop he didn't approve of motorbikes, in his opinion they were dangerous and made people behave recklessly. He also knew a little bit about what had happened between Jacob and me. I got fed up of his constant pestering as to why I hadn't gone to visit Jacob more. Edward on the other hand looked strained.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded angrily after Jacob had taken his helmet off and hopped off the bike.

"Arrrrr" he replied glancing at Charlie and Edward and their hostile expressions. "I was hoping to talk to you before you left" he said nervously. "Alone."

I raised my eyebrow at him, "What makes you think you deserve that?"

"Sweetheart" Edward said calmly walking over and putting his arm around me. "I'll finish putting your bags in the car, you go" then he added in a whisper "You'll regret it if you don't hear him out beautiful."

I turned to look at him, his face was calm but I could see the worry clear in his beautiful green eyes. "Okay" I whispered.

He kissed me gently on the lips and then I turned around to face Jacob. "You have five minutes" I said firmly "That's all and then we have to hit the road."

I walked off with Jacob, leading him towards the forest where we were just out of view of the house.

"What?" I demanded again.

"I really screwed this up didn't I?" he asked gesturing between us.

"Yes" I answered bluntly.

He sighed "I guess that can't be helped now though" he replied. "I just wanted to come and see you before you left to tell you one more thing, to try and make it right."

It was my turn to sigh, "Get on with it Jacob" I said sadly closing my eyes. This was all so exhausting.

He didn't reply and when I opened my eyes it was too late to stop him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: New Years Eve has arrived, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or it's characters**

**Chapter Songs: Solar Midnite – Lupe Fiasco, Night of Your Life – J Williams, Till the World Ends – Britney Spears, Born This Way – Lady Gaga and Firework – Katy Perry.**

He crashed his lips to mine, trying to force his tongue into my mouth. I pushed him away using all of my strength.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I screeched at him.

"Changing your mind hopefully" he replied looking pleased with himself. "You can't tell me you didn't feel anything just now Bella, I know you did" he said smugly.

And that was the point where I decked him in the jaw.

"Owwwwwww" I cried shaking my fist.

"Why did you hit me?" he asked confused, obviously I hadn't hurt him at all.

"Because" I growled, my teeth gritted together due to the pain. "The only thing I felt was anger and shock" I replied before storming off.

"Bella wait, wait up" he shouted running after me.

"Fuck off Jacob" I spat.

When I came into view of the house Edward and Charlie saw me, obviously they had heard my yelling. They both came running over to me.

"What happened Bella?" asked Edward panicky.

"Bells honey are you okay?" asked Charlie.

I threw myself into Edward's arms. "She hit me" Jacob told them, "I think maybe she broke her hand."

"Why did you hit him Bells?" asked Charlie his brow furrowed.

"Because he kissed me" I spat out. "Without my permission."

I heard a low growl and Edward's arm released me. He walked over to Jacob and grabbed the collar of his tee shirt.

"Don't you ever fucking touch her again" he growled, he was furious and defending my honour. If I hadn't been in so much pain I would have been able to appreciate how sexy he was when he was mad.

"And here's a helpful tip, maybe you should have waited for her to ask you" he growled.

"She will ask one day, when she's sick of you" Jacob retorted.

Edward's grip on Jacob's shirt tightened, "Alright boys that's enough now" Charlie stepped in going into police chief mode.

"You aren't going to let him get away with this are you Charlie?" asked Jacob.

It was Charlie's turn to be mad "Leave now Jacob. Before I charge you with assaulting my daughter" he demanded.

Reluctantly Jacob walked over to his bike, jammed on his helmet and sped off. "Are you okay honey?" asked Charlie.

"I'm fine" I replied in a small voice.

Edward strode over to me and gently held my sore hand, "Can you flex your fingers Bella?" he asked me.

I wiggled my fingers for him "It doesn't feel broken, trust me I'd know."

He smiled at me; it was a strained smile, a smile that worried me.

"Okay let's hit the road then" Edward said reluctantly, "If you're sure you don't want Carlisle to take a look at?"

I shook my head; the last thing I wanted was to explain to Edward's parents what had happened.

We left for Seattle after I promised Charlie I would let him know immediately if Jacob continued to bother me.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Edward asked just outside Forks, pulling the car over to the side of the road.

"Yeah, are you okay?" I asked my brow creased with worry.

He took my face gently in his hands, "Bella, I'm upset that you are upset, I'm angry that Jacob took advantage of you, but I can handle that as long as I know that you are okay" he breathed "You don't need to ask me if I'm okay."

"I am okay, I'm angry, I'm confused, and I don't know what to do" I said biting my lip.

"About what sweetheart?" he asked, his gaze not leaving mine.

"About Jacob" I whispered, "I don't know that I can be friends with him again, this side I saw to him, it's not the friend I know and have known for all this time."

"I know" he said soothingly, "But I promise Bella, it'll all work out and whatever you decide I'll support you" he said before kissing me on the forehead.

That helped a lot to know that Edward wouldn't be angry at me if I did decide to forgive Jacob, this was another moment where Edward had proved to me just how damn lucky I was to have him, I was certain I didn't deserve someone so wonderful.

"Ready to head for home?" he asked me with a smile.

"Hell yes" I replied.

The drive didn't take long; thankfully Edward didn't bring up what had happened today again. He always seemed to sense when I needed to be distracted from something like this.

I think he had also probably realised that we would have to explain in great detail what had gone down today when we arrived home.

Alice being Alice would notice straight away that A: we had taken far longer than them to get home and B: it wasn't hard to read my facial expressions, I was certain I would give it away and C: the fact that my hand was still badly swollen.

Sure enough when we pulled up outside and Edward helped me lug my bags inside they were all in the living room waiting to pounce.

"You two took a while, were you admiring the view?" asked Emmett in a suggestive tone winking at us.

"Holy crap Bella what happened to your hand?" Alice demanded jumping up for a closer look. "Are you okay? It looks so sore!"

"Get into a fight defending little Eddie?" teased Emmett.

"Defending herself more like" Edward replied putting his arm around me and guiding me towards the sofa.

"Spill" said Rose eyeing us both up.

I launched into the events of this afternoon, providing all the details I knew they wanted.

"Jacob showed up to talk" I told them, I could feel my anger towards him surfacing again, "Apparently he couldn't pick up the damn phone or answer a text it was far more convenient for him to show up and accost me."

All eyes were still expectantly on me so I carried on "So we went for a short walk just to the edge of the woods, he said some crap about wanting to tell me something that might change my mind, he put the guilt trip on again so I decided to hear him out."

"I closed my eyes preparing for the whole it's your fault speech and when he didn't reply I opened my eyes. When I did..." I paused.

"Don't leave us hanging!" cried Alice.

"When I did it was too late to stop him, he kissed me."

"That rat bastard!" screeched Rose.

"And that was about the time when I socked him in the jaw" I said wincing as I felt a twinge of pain in my hand.

"You hit him?" asked Alice completely shocked.

"Damn right she hit him, and he bloody well deserved it too" Rose retorted, "And if it was me it wouldn't be the only place where I'd hit him."

"I don't doubt that for a second" replied Jasper grinning at Rose.

"Man Bells your hand looks damn sore, I'd love to see his face, did you do any damage?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"No it certainly didn't look that way" I replied sheepishly.

Emmett chuckled, "It's alright little sis, I'm sure he knew what you meant to do" he grinned at me.

After everyone finally managed to calm down and had finished questioning me on all the minor details Emmett ordered some pizzas and put on a movie, his favourite, The Hangover.

Later that night I was cuddled up in bed with Edward, oh how I had missed lying in bed safely wrapped in his strong, muscled arms.

"I missed this" he breathed.

"Me too" I sighed happily right before he captured my lips with his.

Edward was officially the best kisser in the world, every time he kissed me I all but melted. My brain became mush and speech was not possible.

Tonight was no exception, his tongue expertly dancing with mine as he pulled me closer to him before rolling over so he was hovering over me.

We still hadn't had sex yet but if it compared at all to our make out sessions I knew I wasn't going to be at all disappointed.

Panting slightly he pulled away from my lips, even in the dark I could see the lust in his hooded gaze and I could feel it too, if you get what I mean!

Gently he lay down next to me and pulled me back into his arms. I took the opportunity to kiss him again.

Groaning he pulled away "Bella you have no idea what your kisses do to me" he said huskily.

"If it does the same to you as it does to me I think I have a fair idea" I breathed.

He groaned again, "I want to show you exactly what you do to me Bella, but I want it to be special, preferably alone somewhere without friends and siblings on the other side of the wall" he said kissing my lips gently.

"I can't wait" I told him suggestively.

When we woke the next morning it was New Year's Eve, Edward being the amazing boyfriend that he is woke up before me and when I woke he was nowhere in sight.

I spied a piece of folded up paper lying on his pillow.

Good morning my beautiful Bella

Breakfast in bed is on its way so keep the bed warm for me xo

I barely had time to smooth my hair before Edward pushed the door open carrying a tray of French Toast with bacon and strawberries and two orange juices.

He grinned at me "Good morning sweetheart."

"Mmmm morning, what did I do to deserve this?" I asked.

He set the tray down, closed the door and walked over to the bed joining me once more. He kissed the tip of my nose "Just by being you my beautiful Bella, you bring out this romantic side of me" he chuckled.

"Well I'll make sure to always bring out that side of you then" I replied kissing him on the lips.

We spent most of the day just quietly enjoying each other's company before we were interrupted by the rest of our friends bursting into the living room nosily.

"So what should we do tonight?" asked Alice settling on the sofa next to me.

"You mean the little pixie hasn't already made plans for us?" asked Emmett in mock shock.

"Oh ha ha" replied Alice with a grin as she threw a pillow at Emmett's head.

"No seriously she hasn't" Jasper answered Emmett, "But she must be rubbing off on me because I have an idea."

"Well let's hear it Jazz man" prompted Emmett.

"Okay so I was thinking it's been a while since we all just hung out here and drank together. It'd be kind of nice to do that then maybe hit up a club later on to countdown to the New Year" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"That's a great idea Jazzy" said Alice proudly kissing his softly.

We all agreed it would definitely be fun to just hang out in our little group so it was settled, drinks then club.

Alice insisted we should all get dressed up since it was New Years after all so we made plans that Edward and I would be in charge of purchasing the food for our little party, Rose and Emmett would handle the alcohol and Alice and Jasper would deal with the decorations.

With that we all went our separate ways and when we returned Alice with the help of her loyal assistant Jasper, had transformed the boys house with a multitude of fairy lights and left over decorations from my birthday.

We girls then headed next door to get ready, Alice and Rose once again played cosmetician and hairdresser so really I didn't have to do anything except dress myself.

We all agreed that although it was cold really we weren't going to be spending a lot of time outdoors so it would be fun to wear cocktail dresses. Yes they were definitely rubbing off on me, there was a time not so long ago where cocktail dresses, winter and fun would have never been in the same sentence in my world.

Alice had picked out a dress from her closet that she hadn't yet worn. The dress was gorgeous; it was royal blue silk organza ruffled halter dress with a black contrasting pleated waistband.

The back was open and the neck line a low V, Jasper was sure to drool. She teamed it with towering strappy back sparkly heels and matching jewellery. She left her hair down a poker straight.

Rosalie was wearing a black, aqua and blue strapless dress, the top half was black, and the skirt was made up of an aqua coloured band and a blue band at the bottom. She had her blonde hair out in waves and was wearing stilettos in the same blue that was on her dress.

As for me I was wearing a black silk one shoulder sequinned cocktail dress with gold heels. Rose who was in charge of my hair had left it fairly natural and Alice did my makeup.

When we were finally ready we grabbed our thick winter coats and made our way back over to the boys place. This was no easy feat considering the ground was icy and I was wearing massively high heels.

Sure enough they were waiting for us in the living room. When Edward saw me he strode over with an appraising look on his face.

"You look beautiful my Bella" he said taking my face in his hands and kissing me.

"Thanks" I replied shyly.

We headed over to join the rest of our little group who were settling in to play some drinking game that Emmett was insisting we play.

"Alrighty" he said rubbing his hands together, "It's called the Circle of Death."

Jasper groaned loudly, "Aw Em please lets pick another game."

"No freaking way Jazz" replied Emmett with a mischievous grin.

I glanced at Edward, "Last time we played this Jasper got utterly trashed and ended up wearing some of Alice's clothes" he chuckled.

"And that my friends is why we are playing this game" ordered Emmett. "Right so do we all know the rules?" he asked.

"Don't you have them written down somewhere?" Alice asked Emmett.

"Oh right, hang on" he replied jumping up and rummaging through the draw in the coffee table. "Sweet here they are" he said handing them to me for a look.

Lay all the cards out, face down in a circle, with the cup in the middle. Start with one person drawing a card out of the deck, and continue pulling until the fourth king has been pulled or all the cards are gone, your choice. The person must do something corresponding to the card they pulled as follows:

**1-6** - If it's red, you must drink. If it's black, give out that many drinks times two (i.e. a black 4 pass out 8 to whoever you want.)  
**7** - Ladies drink  
**8** - Gentlemen drink  
**9** - Rhyme: pick a word and start going around the circle rhyming with it. The first to pause, repeat a word or say something that doesn't rhyme must drink.  
**10** - Ahead: the person to your left must drink.  
**Jack** - Back: the person to your right must drink.  
**Queen** - Category: pick something general like beer types or condom types, and start going around the circle, same rules as rhyming. The first to pause, repeat or screw up must drink.  
**King** - The first three people to pull kings may pour as much beer into the cup in the middle as he or she wants. The person to pull the forth king must drink everything in the cup.  
**Ace** - Waterfall: whoever pulls the card designates which way the waterfall is going (to the right or left). Everyone starts drinking at the same time, when the person who pulls the card stops, whichever way the waterfall is going you must stop drinking in that order (i.e. if the waterfall is going to the left, when the person who pulled the card stops, the person on their left may stop and then the person on their left may stop, etc.)

I could see why Jasper wasn't keen to play this game, I wasn't so keen myself!

"Let the game begin!" said Emmett clapping his hands loudly. "Rosie you can start" he said.

"You are so going down Emmett Cullen" she said confidently pulling a card from the circle. "5 Black, hmm so ten drinks to who?" she asked looking pointedly at Emmett.

Emmett gallantly took ten huge gulps of his drink; it was Alice's turn next.

"Oooo I got a queen!" she said happily waving her card around. "So the category is shoe designers! I'll start Malono Blahnik!"

"Ummmmmmm Jimmy Choo?" asked Jasper.

"Oh well done Jazzy!" squealed Alice earning a snigger from Emmett.

"Christian Louboutin" I said confidently, one afternoon Alice had forced me to help her clean out all of her shoes so I was fairly certain I now knew every shoe designer known to man. I glanced at Alice she looked proud and gave me two thumbs up.

"Chuck Taylor" said Edward with a grin.

"Ummmmm" Emmett squirmed. "Damn umm" finally he gave up and took a gulp of his drink.

Laughing Rose informed him he could have looked at the shoes he was wearing as Nike does design shoes.

"You could have told me that Rosie" he replied with a pout.

Slowly I selected a card from the circle, a king. I held it up "Ah you have to pour some of you drink into the middle glass Bells" said Jasper.

After doing that it was Edward's turn, he pulled out a Jack meaning I had to drink.

Everyone groaned when Emmett pulled a card, it was an Ace meaning we all had drink and keep drinking until Emmett stopped.

We played for a few hours, everyone picked on Emmett and he in turn on Jasper so they were by far the drunkest.

"So how did Jasper end up in Alice's clothes?" I asked Edward confused.

He laughed loudly "Well the game kind of turned into truth or dare" he said lowering his tone so the others wouldn't hear.

"Truth or dare?" asked Emmett excitedly, "Are we going to play that next?" he asked.

"No" said Rose firmly, "Actually the cab will be here in a few."

We all scrambled to grab our coats and straighten ourselves up. Then we headed downtown to the New Moon night club, when we arrived the club was packed.

After grabbing a drink we headed to the dance floor and Alice, Rose and I went to dance.

Till the World Ends by Britney Spears came on and since we were all pretty drunk we let loose.

_Watch Me Move When I Loose When I Lose It Hard  
Get You Off With The Touch Dancing In The Dark  
You Notice What I'm Wearin'  
I'm Noticin' You Starin'  
You Know That I Can Take It To The Next Level Ba-by  
Harder Than The A-list  
Next One On My Hit List_

Jasper soon joined us fist pumping and jumping up and down and singing along.  
_  
I Can't Take It Take It Take No More  
Never Felt Like Felt Like This Before  
C'mon Get Me Get Me On The Floor  
DJ What You What You Waitin' For..._

WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH..

See The Sunlight  
We Ain't Stoppin'  
Keep On Dancing Till The World Ends  
If You Feel It Let It Happen  
Keep On Dancing Till The World Ends  
Keep On Dancing Till The World Ends  
Keep On Dancing Till The World Ends

_WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH..._

Jasper was now waving his hands in the air and shouting out the lyrics.

Rose and I were in fits of laughter, "Shit, look at him Bells" shrieked Rose as he started trying to dance with Alice grabbing her hands and pulling her around the dance floor.

When the song ended Jasper looked disappointed and Alice looked relieved.

_Top of Form_

_It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M  
Just put your paws up  
'Cause you were born this way, baby_

"I love this song!" announced a drunk Rose grabbing me and making me dance with her.

_My mama told me when I was young  
We are all born superstars  
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on  
In the glass of her boudoir_

_There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are  
She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe  
So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far  
Listen to me when I say_

We sang along loudly, Rose began to flick her hair around.

_Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way  
Baby, I was born this way  
Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way  
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way_

We both kind of went crazy flowing Jasper's lead and jumping around, although somehow I don't think we looked as ridiculous as he did.

_Don't be a drag, just be a queen  
Don't be a drag, just be a queen  
Don't be a drag, just be a queen  
Don't be_

_Give yourself prudence and love your friends  
Subway kid, rejoice of truth  
In the religion of the insecure  
I must be myself, respect my youth_

_A different lover is not a sin  
Believe capital H-I-M  
I love my life, I love this record and  
Mi amore vole fe yah_

_I'm beautiful in my way,  
'Cause God makes no mistakes  
I'm on the right track, baby  
I was born this way_

_Don't hide yourself in regret,  
Just love yourself and you're set  
I'm on the right track, baby  
I was born this way_

We both started shouting the lyrics and getting more and more into the song, creating some new dance moves.

_I'm beautiful in my way  
'Cause God makes no mistakes  
I'm on the right track, baby  
I was born this way_

_Don't hide yourself in regret,  
Just love yourself and you're set  
I'm on the right track, baby  
I was born this way, yeah_

_Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way  
Baby, I was born this way  
Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way  
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way_

_I was born this way, hey  
I was born this way, hey  
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way, hey_

_I was born this way, hey  
I was born this way, hey  
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way, hey_

The song ended and the DJ spoke over the loud speakers, "Last song before the countdown to 2011! So grab your partner and get ready!" he boomed.

I made my way over to Edward as Katy Perry's Firework began to play. He pulled me in tight to him, "I loved you dance moves" he said huskily.

Right well that confirmed I didn't look like an idiot after all. "Thanks" I replied looking up at him under my eyelashes.

"Dammit Bella" he said kissing me roughly, "You have no idea what you do to me" he said looking intensely into my eyes.

The music abruptly ended: "Here we go!" shouted the DJ, "Ten, nine, eight, seven" we all chanted along with him, "Six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Years!" the whole club shouted.

Edward turned my face to his and kissed me. "Happy New Year my Bella" he said resting his forehead on mine.

"Happy New Year Edward" and I knew it would be.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: Since I haven't been very good at updating lately I have written one of my longest chapters yet! Hope you love it as much as I do. Has anyone else bought the Twilight Saga: The Illustrated Guide yet? It's amazing! Don't forget to review!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.**

**Chapter Songs: Tremble for My Beloved – Collective Soul, Teenage Dream – Katy Perry.**

After the overly drama filled Christmas break I had I was glad when the new semester started back up at UW and things got back to normal.

One afternoon I was walking to the parking lot after class and reflecting on last year. It had been crazy really, I mean I had moved from Phoenix to Seattle, I had found out my boyfriend at the time was a cheating scumbag and broken up with him, a former friend was pregnant to that said ex, I had been hit on by James, attacked by another creep (I winced thinking about that), been verbally abused by Tanya my current boyfriend's ex and had my best friend confess his love for me.

My life sounded like some bad life time television movie I thought shaking my head; but best of all, something that eclipsed all of the bad things that happened to me, I had found Edward.

Being with him made everything I had been through worthwhile, I honestly still couldn't believe he wanted me to but I wasn't going to complain. He was officially amazing.

When I rounded the corner of the office block, my breath hitched, looking as gloriously sexy as always there was Edward leaning up against his Volvo waiting for me.

"Hey beautiful" he said smiling his sexy crooked grin at me and leaning in for a kiss.

"Hi" I breathed, he chuckled. "Do you ever think I'll be able to stop my heart from leaping from my chest every time you kiss me?" I asked him.

"Well I certainly hope not" he replied grinning and opening the door for me.

"How was your day?" he asked pulling out of the lot.

"Average at best" I replied, "But at least I didn't trip and fall today" I said proudly.

"The day is still young" he replied with a wink.

I pouted knowing full well he was right. "So anyway are you going to tell me where we are going this weekend?" I asked.

"Nope" he said glancing at me out the corner of his eye. Sighing I crossed my arms and glared out the window.

On Monday Edward had told me he was taking me away for the weekend and that it was a surprise. It was now Friday and I still hadn't managed to get him to tell me what was going on.

He laughed when he saw my expression and after parking the car in the driveway he reached over and stroked my cheek with his finger.

"Be patient my Bella" he breathed making me swoon. "Now if I were you I would head inside and check what Alice has been packing for you, she does tend to go a little overboard."

I wholeheartedly agreed with him and quickly grabbed my bag and ran into the house and upstairs to my room.

Sure enough there was Alice surrounded by clothes, most of them fairly skimpy and made of lace.

"Holy shit Alice" I remarked holding up a particularly see through item. "What the hell is this?" I asked holding it between the tips of my fingers and scrunching up my face.

She laughed at me "Silly Bella, it's a little something for Edward to enjoy if you know what I mean" she winked at me.

I knew confessing to Alice and Rose that Edward and I hadn't yet slept together was a bad idea. When it did happen I would be hounded for details.

I grabbed the case and checked the items she had already packed. Hmmm she hadn't done too badly.

She raised her eyebrow at me, "See not all bad" she told me.

"Thanks for helping Allie" I said.

"No problem babe, now let's pick out a few outfits to knock Edwards socks off" she said with a grin.

An hour later I was packed and changed. Alice helped my carry my bag downstairs and out to the Volvo where Edward was waiting.

"Have fun you two" Alice said grinning.

"Yeah don't do anything I wouldn't do" Emmett said winking, "Actually I take that back.."

Rose whacked him around the back of the head. "Seriously Emmett, see you Sunday night!" she said waving at us.

After driving for a while I began to get curious, I knew we were headed north but why I had no clue.

"Okay since you won't tell me where we are going could you give me a clue so I can figure it out myself?" I asked Edward.

"You are so impatient" he chuckled shaking his head, "A clue hmmm" he pondered for a moment. "We are headed somewhere north of Seattle" he turned to grin at me.

"Hmph" I muttered folding my arms, "I kinda already figured that out" I said pouting.

"Here's another, we will be staying for the weekend there" he said, evidently he was enjoying teasing me.

"Wow I hadn't figured that out" I replied with a smirk, two could play at this game, I had my ways of making him give in.

"Please Edward, won't you tell me where we are going?" I asked looking at him from under my eyelashes.

He groaned, "Dammit Bella, that's not playing fair!"

"Please?" I repeated running my hand down his leg.

This earned me a smouldering stare, "Bella we are almost there" he said huskily, "Please I really want this to be a surprise" it was his turn to smoulder at me now making me give in.

"Okay" I breathed shakily.

He smirked at me and grabbed my hand and held it over the console.

After driving for another half hour or so I could see a sign up ahead telling us where we were. I sat up eagerly, Edward laughed, "So impatient aren't we?" he asked.

"Vancouver?" I asked incredulously reading the road sign, "We're spending the weekend in Vancouver, Canada?" I asked shocked.

"We certainly are I knew you wanted to come here, so I thought just the two of us for the weekend would be perfect." He looked a little worried that perhaps I didn't like his surprise.

"Oh Edward it is perfect!" I cried happily.

He beamed at me looking supremely pleased with himself.

Before long we pulled up outside a gorgeous, Tudor style hotel that overlooked the bay. Edward parked the car in the guest car park and grabbed both of our bags out of the trunk.

"Wow, this place is just amazing!" I exhaled, I could not believe he had planned this, it was so romantic.

He grinned and led me inside. The girl at the desk looked up when she heard the door open. Her mouth dropped open slightly when she saw Edward, being as devastatingly good looking as he is.

He of course was completely oblivious and as usual I felt plain when she saw me and looked me over in a way that suggested she should be standing next to this Greek god instead of me.

"Hello" he greeted her in his musical voice, "I have a reservation under Cullen" he told her.

"Oh yes umm sure!" she stuttered in a squeaky voice. "Here's your key. You'll be in room 40, that's on the fourth floor."

Wow now I was really impressed, Edward had booked a room on the top floor, and the view would be amazing.

"Thank you" he said earnestly. "Come on beautiful let's go check out our room."

The lady at the desk glared at me as I followed Edward to the lift. When it dinged at our floor he left me step out first, we were standing in a small corridor, romantically lit, and there were only a few doors down the corridor.

Edward pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He flicked the light switch and stepped back so I could walk through the door first.

My first observation was that the room we had walked into was enormous. It wasn't a hotel room it was like a suite, a mini apartment. Just to the left off the entrance was a kitchen/dining room, it looked impressive. I walked into the living room and turned on the light. It had huge windows and French doors opening up onto a balcony that overlooked the bay and harbour.

It had an enormous fire place with a rug in front of it and a huge sofa. Off the living room was the bedroom, complete with a king sized canopy bed and an en suite.

I walked back into the living room still looking around the suite in amazement.

"What do you think? Was the surprise worth the wait?" he asked walking towards me and taking my hands in his.

"It's perfect, definitely worth the wait" I replied beaming and throwing my arms around him.

I heard him chuckle into my hair "I'm glad you like it. Maybe next time I surprise you you'll be able to be a little more patient?" he teased.

"Unlikely" I replied with a grin, "So what else have you planned for tonight? Any more surprises?" I asked him.

"I was thinking perhaps heading off somewhere for a quiet dinner?"

"That sounds good, I think I've had my daily dose of surprises" I teased.

"So impatient aren't you my Bella?" he said kissing me on the lips.

I quickly got changed into something warmer, unbelievably there was a place colder than Forks and freshened up. Edward suggested we go somewhere quiet, cosy and casual which sounded perfect to me so I didn't have to get too dressed up.

I put on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved cream cashmere top that Alice had convinced me to buy and my leather jacket. I rummaged through my bag and found that she had thrown in my favourite pair of boots so I put them on and grabbed a scarf for good measure.

Edward had already gotten changed while I was fussing in the bathroom. He was wearing jeans, a black short sleeved shirt with thin white stripes and a casual black jacket. His hair was in its usual disarray. Just the way I liked it.

Man he is so sexy I thought taking a moment to stare at him and he's mine. That would take a while to get used to; I still hadn't gotten my head around that fact, that he was dating me.

Maybe we should just skip dinner and stay in...My mind began to wander to places that made me blush with pleasure.

"You're blushing" he said striding towards me and touching my overheated cheek, "Why are you blushing?" he asked with a sexy little smile

"I ummm..." Shit what was I going to say? I'm blushing because my imagination was running wild with sexual fantasies. No that would be embarrassing!

I think maybe a semi truth would suffice. "I was just thinking that you look really sexy" I blushed again.

"Oh" he glanced down at what he was wearing perplexed. "Well I think you look far sexier than me, perhaps too tempting to share with strangers in a public restaurant" he smouldered.

Perhaps those fantasies I had just been having might come true later after all!

We headed down stairs and through the lobby of the hotel hand in hand earning me a glare from the girl at the desk and Edward a hair flick and a wink, which much to her dismay went unnoticed.

"I think the girl at the desk has a crush on you" I commented playfully when we had walked outside and was out of earshot.

"Who? What?" he asked confused.

"Oh come on Edward don't tell me you didn't notice?" I teased.

"I didn't I was too busy marvelling in the fact that the beautiful, sexy woman on my arm is actually here with me and all mine" he replied with that sexy grin of his again.

Damn if he carried on like this all night I would probably jump him during dinner at the restaurant! But judging by the way he had been looking at me all night so far I was certain he wouldn't mind.

I smiled at him flirtatiously unable to string a few words together to reply at first. "You dazzled her when we first walked in and greeted her, it's unsurprising she has a crush on you, I'm shocked you didn't notice the exaggerated wink she gave you back there."

"I dazzled her?" he asked furrowing his brow, "Do I dazzle you?"

"Frequently" I replied truthfully.

"Hmmmmm and how exactly do I do that?" he asked curiously.

"That would be telling" I answered teasing him.

"Please tell me?" he stared into my eyes, his green eyes smouldering at me making me putty in his hands.

"You're doing it now!" I exclaimed when I was finally able to speak.

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, when you look at me like that it dazzles me"

"How so?" he asked probing.

"It's embarrassing" I told him stalling a little.

"Please Bella?" he asked dazzling me again with those eyes.

"When you look at me like that it's like I can't think or speak. It kind of makes me want to jump you" I said looking down blushing and embarrassed.

"Maybe I'll have to dazzle you more often if jumping me will occur" he said with a cheeky grin.

We reached the main street lined with restaurants then putting a temporary halt on our flirting as we decided which restaurant to eat at.

Edward pointed out a cosy little restaurant that looked quiet and relaxing, I agreed readily.

"Table for two please" Edward told the male server standing at the entrance, "Somewhere private, a booth perhaps?" he added.

"Follow me" he replied but not before giving me a once over and winking at me.

Edward raised his eyebrow at the servers back as he led us to our seats.

"Now who has an admirer?" he whispered in my ear pulling me closer into his side

"Ridiculous" I muttered earning a chuckle in return.

"Here" gestured the server pointing at the small table in a secluded corner of the room right beside a huge stone fireplace with a roaring fire.

"Sorry we don't have any booths available" he said trying to sound sincere.

"That's fine" replied Edward pulling out my chair for me before pulling his closer to me so we were both facing the rest of the room and the fire place and taking a seat.

"Here are your menus" he said placing them in front of us. "Can I get you anything to drink to start off with?"

"Sure, Bella what would you like?" he turned to ask me first, always the gentleman!

"Umm a glass of Riesling please" I answered.

"And I'll take a beer" Edward added.

"Sure, I'll be back shortly to take your orders" he told us winking at me again.

Ignoring him I glanced at my menu trying to decide what to order. Between us we decided on a wood fired chicken pizza, potato skins filled with bacon, cheese, sour cream and spring onion, a garden salad and garlic bread.

"Is there anything in particular you want to see or do after dinner?" Edward asked me smouldering again.

You and you I thought. Crap! Blushing again, I had never been gladder that Edward couldn't read my thoughts.

"Nothing in particular" I replied honestly.

"Blushing again my Bella?" he asked with that sexy smile of his.

"No!" I replied blushing again.

"I love it when you blush" he said huskily reaching out to run his finger over my cheek, "I have a few ideas of what we could do later" he continued.

Holy crow he was going to give me heart failure if he carried on like this, it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.

"Maybe you can show me later then" I replied in what I hoped was a sexy voice.

Apparently it was because all I heard was a low groan from him.

Typically we were interrupted, this time by the server; normally it would have been Emmett loud and inappropriate as he is. We placed our order, barely even shifting our eyes from one another.

Sensing that perhaps the sexual tension at our table could be cut with a knife I changed the topic. "Thank you for bringing me here Edward, I've always wanted to visit Vancouver" I told him.

"You're welcome sweetheart, it's nice to be able to spend some uninterrupted time together without Emmett's innuendo and Jasper's mocking" he replied.

"Jasper mocks you?" I asked stifling a giggle.

"Relentlessly, until I started dating you that is" he informed me.

"Why?" I was curious now.

"Well I didn't date anyone after I broke up with Tanya, Jasper would tease me and say I must have switched teams since I wasn't interested in dating anyone"

A giggle escaped that I was trying to hold in. "Oh so you think that's funny?" he asked smiling. "It got to the point where he would point out men in the street and ask me if I would like him to set me up."

I laughed again "Very, still at least you haven't had to put up with the sweat pants police and the details queen."

"Let me guess that the details queen must be Rose?" he asked.

"Of course, every time we spend time alone together she asks if there has been any between the sheets action and to spill the details. Apparently we are disappointing her."

He laughed loudly "That sounds exactly like Rose, her and Em really are the perfect match. That must mean Alice is the sweat pants police?" he asked looking puzzled.

It was my turn to laugh, "Remember the day I arrived in Seattle you lot left us girls alone for some girly time?"

"How could I forget? That was the day you turned my world upside down" he smiled sexily at me. I would definitely have to get him to elaborate on that comment later.

"Well we were unpacking my stuff and Alice was looking through all of my clothes when she found my sweat pants. She hates sweat pants and acted as though they were going to bite her, she made me promise to throw them all out."

It was his turn to laugh again. "That was how the whole shopping expedition came about and to this day I still have to hide my sweat pants from her just so she won't burn them."

"Ah she truly can be a frightening little pixie can't she?" he chuckled.

"No doubt about it, still they both really are the two best friends a girl could have."

He smiled, "Do you still talk to your friends from Arizona? Chelsea and Tara wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I still really miss them" I replied.

Just then the waiter showed up with the food, "Let me know if there is anything else I can get you" he told me, I could hear the emphasis he put on the anything, so gross!

"Hmm it looks like I may have to put him in his place" Edward mused looking a little pissed off as he watched the waiter serve another table. "At first it was amusing seeing his futile attempts at flirting but now it's rather annoying."

Please put him in his place! After seeing him defend me against Jacob I had found out that protective, angry Edward was a very sexy Edward indeed!

"We always seem to get the worst waiters where ever we go for dinner" I answered.

"That's because you my Bella are too beautiful for your own good."

For the remainder of dinner we continued to flirt without interruptions, by the time we had finished desert the sexual tension was intense. I was dying to get out of the restaurant and head back to the privacy of our room.

It seemed as though the second that thought crossed my mind Edward thought the same thing. He asked if I was ready to leave and I nodded enthusiastically in response after paying the bill we stepped out into the positively freezing Vancouver air.

"What would you like to do now beautiful Bella?" he asked me wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close.

"I'll leave it up to you" I said in what I hoped was a seductive tone.

He responded with a very low groan, so quiet I could only just hear him. "Head back to the hotel?" he asked me.

"Please" was all I could reply with.

We headed back to the hotel and as soon as we stepped into the elevator Edward captured my lips with his, kissing me with such intensity it made me dizzy, in a good way!

Without breaking the kiss we stumbled to the door where we had to break apart to unlock the door.

Once in the room Edward went to light the fire and turn out the lights except for one dimmed lamp. "Come here sweetheart" he said patting the cushions he had placed on the floor in front of the fire.

I shrugged out of my leather jacket and joined him where he captured my lips with his again. His tongue made its way into my mouth and he wrapped his arms around me.

We kissed intensely for an un-measurable amount of time before inevitably we had to break apart to catch of breaths.

"Bella" he said huskily looking at me with hooded eyes, "I've wanted to tell you this for a while now. I need to tell you how I feel about you."

My breath hitched "Bella, I love you. I'm so in love with you" he declared his green eyes burning with intensity.

My heart soared; I couldn't believe this was happening! I was so overjoyed to hear those words spoken by him. "I know it's soon, really soon. But Bella there have been so many times when I have almost told you and I wanted it to be perfect."

He looked a little nervous, almost panicked. Then I realised I hadn't responded yet. "I love you too Edward, so much."

He practically pounced on me; he kissed me until I lost my breath again. "Bella, you have no idea how happy you have made me telling me that. You mean the world to me."

"You mean the world to me too; you have no idea how many times I have almost blurted that out."

"Say it again" he told me.

"I love you Edward" I told him.

"And I love you my Bella, let me show you how much" he replied huskily.

I nodded incapable of words; he scooped me up and headed to the bedroom where he laid me down gently on the bed.

He hovered above me kissing my lips, my neck and my chest before slowly undressing me and then himself.

He was glorious from head to toe like an Adonis in flesh and for the next few hours Edward Cullen showed me exactly how much he loved me.

My eyelids fluttered open as my mind ran over the events of the previous evening making me flush with pleasure.

"Good morning my love"

"Good morning" I replied sleepily opening my eyes to see Edward smiled down on me.

After an extra hour or so in bed repeating last night's activities we dragged ourselves out of bed to head out for breakfast and to see the sights Vancouver had to offer.

We were walking along the beach after breakfast when I decided to ask him what I had meant to the night before. "I was meaning to ask you something last night before we both got sidetracked" I told him.

He grinned at me "I thoroughly enjoyed being sidetracked by you but fire away."

"So did I" I replied with a smile, "What I wanted to ask you was about when you were talking about not being able to forget the day I arrived here last night. Could you elaborate?" I asked.

He stopped walking and grabbed the hand he wasn't already holding. "I could never forget the day I first met you because as corny as this may sound I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

**Edward's Point of View**

_Flashback_

_Alice was bouncing in her seat in excitement, "I can't believe Bella is actually moving here! I can't wait to see her!"_

_Jasper had long since given up trying to rein in Alice's excitement, her and Rose's friend Bella was arriving today from Phoenix, Arizona._

_Bella had been all Alice and Rosalie had been talking about for the past few weeks since they first told us she had decided to move to Seattle. She was an old friend from their high school days at Forks High School and according to Alice like a sister to them both._

_I had to admit I was curious to meet Bella, I was a little surprised that myself, Emmett and Jasper hadn't yet met Bella considering my brother Em was dating Rose and my cousin Jazz was dating Alice._

"_She's here!" exclaimed Rose as we heard a car pull into the driveway._

"_Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" squealed Alice jumping up from the sofa and running full speed to the door._

"_Bella you're finally here! It's so good to see you!" I heard Alice squeal._

_I walked outside behind Em and Jasper to see Alice clinging to who I presumed was Bella._

"_My turn Allie" demanded Rose pushing Alice out of the way and hugging her tightly. "I've missed you heaps Bells, we have so much catching up to do!" she exclaimed._

_Then I heard her speak "Me too guys, I'm so happy to be here!" Her voice did things to me I wouldn't have thought possible and I hadn't even seen her yet!_

"_Bella this is my Jasper" Alice told her pulled Jasper to her side giving Bella barely time to breathe._

"_Hi I'm Jasper Whitlock" he said introducing himself and giving her a brief hug. "It's nice to finally meet you; Alice has been talking about you nonstop for weeks."_

_She laughed her laugh like her voice was beautiful, like bells. Shit Cullen pull yourself together I thought._

"_You too Jasper" she replied kindly._

"_This is Emmett" said Rose gesturing at my hulk of a brother. I knew what was about to happen, poor Bella was about to be attacked._

"_Bellsy!" he shouted pulling her into a bear hug so tight she could barely breathe no doubt. Yup that was Emmett always over enthusiastic and definitely overwhelming._

"_Welcome little one" he added._

"_Thanks Emmett it's great to meet you too, but I kind of can't breathe!" I heard her choke out._

"_Emmett Alexander Joshua Cullen put her down!" shouted Rosalie laughing, "Sorry Rosie, sorry Bella" Emmett apologised._

_I stepped forward to introduce myself and finally I saw her._

_She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her skin was pale but no unhealthy, her cheeks were flushed evidently due to being the centre of attention, she had long chocolate brown hair with faint flashes of mahogany. She was maybe 5 foot 4, slim but with curves in all the right places._

_She turned to look at me, shit now I had to speak to her, I actually felt nervous. She stared at me._

"_Hello I'm Edward Cullen" I said stepped forward to embrace her as the others had. "It's great to meet you" I told her earnestly._

"_You too Edward" she said shyly. Then I noticed her eyes, deep pools of chocolate brown, the kind of eyes you could drown in._

_Before I could say another word to her Alice grabbed her hand, "Come on Bella, I want to show you the house! You are totally going to love your room."_

_Bella glanced at me apologetically, giving me a small smile. I stood staring after her until Emmett spoke._

"_I think our little Ed man here has a bit of a crush on wee Bella" he guffawed._

"_Ooooooo!" Jasper mock squealed._

"_You two are so immature" I told them while they laughed at me._

"_Ah maturity is over rated" Emmett replied, "Come on lets grab Bella's stuff and take it inside for her."_

_We lugged all of Bella's boxes and bags inside and set them in the entrance way. Once we had just carried the last lot in the girls came downstairs._

"_We got all your stuff for ya Bells" Emmett told her proudly. _

"_Thanks Emmett, Jasper, Edward" she replied, "That was really nice of you."_

"_It's no problem Bella" Jasper answered her. "We'll let you girls do whatever girls do together and come over later."_

_With that we headed next door to our place. Emmett grabbed a beer for us each and handed them around._

"_So seriously Ed man" Emmett started. Great, I knew exactly where this was going. Since I hadn't dated anyone since Tanya, Emmett and Jasper made it their personal mission to not only find me a lady friend as Jasper put it but to involve themselves in every aspect of my nonexistent love life._

"_Yes Emmett" I sighed._

"_What do you think of Bella?" interrupted Jasper impatiently._

"_She seems really nice" I answered lamely._

"_Aw come on Ed give us more than that!" begged Emmett._

"_Yeah Ed we saw the look on your face when you saw her, it's a look you haven't given any female in a long time!" piped up Jasper._

"_Shit Jazz you really are turning into a male Alice" I mocked._

_He glared at me, "Ed Bella is seriously hot you can't tell me you wouldn't want to give it a chance" added Emmett._

"_You two are seriously worse than Rose and Alice, yes Emmett she is gorgeous and yes Jazz she seems really nice but I have only just met her" I addressed them both._

_They looked at each other with knowing smiles and nodding. _

_Later that night we headed back over to the girls place with pizza, beers and a few DVD's. I got to know Bella a lot better hearing about her time in Forks and Phoenix and a little about her family._

_When we headed back home I barely managed to escape another inquisition from Em and Jazz. Lying in bed all I could think about was Bella._

_I never would have thought it possible to feel a pull towards someone the way I felt towards Bella. It was stronger than anything else I had ever felt for anyone else, even Tanya, who I thought I was in love with._

_Now I wasn't sure, all I knew was that I was falling already for Bella Swan._

_End of Flashback_

"You did?" I asked in shock.

"How could I not" he replied tucking a stray hair behind my ear.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the new chapter =)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I own Twilight**

**Chapter Songs: Hot N Cold – Katy Perry, Heavy in Your Arms – Florence and the Machine**

The rest of the weekend in Vancouver passed in a blur, quite possibly due to the fact that we ended up barely leaving the hotel suite.

I was on cloud nine when we headed for home late Sunday afternoon, the weekend had been perfect. Edward had declared his true feelings for me, something I had been hoping to hear for a long time.

Know I realised what being in love truly felt like and felt more content than I had in my life.

"They'll all be waiting for us you know" I told Edward. "Just you wait little Miss Queen of Details will pounce as soon as we walk through the door."

"Hmmm, maybe I'll have to smuggle you in and keep you prisoner in my room then" he smirked at me. "I don't really want to have to share you."

My breath hitched "Okay" I breathed.

He chuckled, "Come on love let's face them now so they leave us alone later."

"Ha! I'm not sure it'll work out that way knowing Alice."

As I expected they pounced on us as soon as we walked into the house.

"Oh you're back!" squealed Alice, "Did you have fun?" she asked.

"Yeah Ed, Bellsy, did you have fun?" Emmett asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Edward groaned, "Girl time" demanded Rose grabbing my hand, "You boys can go get us all dinner and we'll help Bells unpack" she told Emmett.

"Sure Rosie" replied Emmett turning to look at Edward, "Come on Ed man" he said whacking Edward on the back.

"We want to know everything!" Alice told me excitedly as soon as Rose had shut my bedroom door.

"Of course you do" I replied smiling. I told them most of what had happened, leaving out a few of the more intimate details.

"Oh Bells that is so romantic" sighed Alice. "I knew you two would fall in love, you are too perfect together not to."

"Definitely romantic, maybe Edward should give Emmett a few pointers" Rose added.

Laughing we made our way back downstairs.

A week later it was a Friday afternoon and I was sitting at home alone. Edward had a major assignment to finish as did Alice, and Jasper and Rose didn't finish class till later on.

Sighing I pulled out a thick text book from my bag that I knew I should probably start reading and making notes on for class.

Just as I had begun to read the first page I heard the front door open, "Hey Bellsy you home?" Emmett called.

"Yeah Em through here" I called back.

"Hey hey B!" he greeted me with a grin.

"Hi Em, I thought you were working this afternoon?"

"Yeah my client that had a training session booked in cancelled so I thought I'd take the afternoon off and come and hang out with my favourite little sis!" he replied.

"I wasn't interrupting anything was I?" he asked.

"Nope, in fact you saved me from an afternoon of studying" I replied with a smile snapping my book shut.

"Awesome" he grinned back at me.

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked him.

"Well we all have that party to go to tonight right?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Tonight we had been invited to Riley's 2011 New Year party; apparently he had one at the start of every year. If the last party Riley was involved in was anything to go by tonight would be drama filled.

"Let's get a head start on the others" he beamed pulling two bottles of vodka from a bag behind his back.

We both headed into the kitchen with the vodka, "What mixers have you got?" Emmett asked eagerly.

I opened the fridge and began to pull out options, "Heaps of different flavours of juice, lemonade, there are some liqueurs in that cupboard" I answered pointing.

"Sa-weet! Let's experiment!" Emmett replied pulling out different bottles and setting them on the bench with the juice and lemonade.

After mixing our concoctions we headed to the living room and turned on the stereo.

"Alright here goes vodka, lemonade, tropical juice and tequila!" announced Emmet clinking his glass to mine.

We both took a sip, "Em this is really good!" I told him taking a bigger sip of my drink.

An hour later we had had five of the concoctions each, "I think we should name this drink!" he announced excitedly.

"Yes!" I cried, "We shall call it the Tropical Emmett."

He laughed loudly "I like it! The Tropical Emmett!" he shouted. "We need to make a drink to name after you!" he announced.

"Okay" I answered eagerly following him to the kitchen.

"Okay hmmm vodka, strawberry liqueur, cranberry juice, Berry Bella!"

I laughed "I love it!" grabbing the glass he had poured for me. "Emmett its sooo good!"

"YUM!" he answered smacking his lips together.

Laughing we stumbled into the living room.

"Bella?" Emmett asked in a serious tone.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"You know I haven't seen you wear your t-shirt yet, you know the one I got you for your birthday."

Oooops, "Oh! I was saving it for a special occasion" I told him, apparently I was better at lying when I was drunk because Emmett bought it.

"OH!" he said loudly, "That's a great idea!" he added enthusiastically.

"Like now!" I told him, "I'll go get it" I said excitedly jumping up and stumbling towards the stairs.

"Don't fall down them!" Emmett yelled after me, "Edward will never trust me to be alone around you again if we have to make a trip to the hospital" he laughed.

"Promise" I replied laughing.

I somehow made it upstairs with only minor difficulty; I rummaged around in my drawer until I found the t-shirt and quickly changed. Making my way back downstairs was a hell of a lot more difficult but I managed to make it down in one piece.

"Look!" I cried excitedly.

Emmett beamed at me "It looks awesome" he said giving me the thumbs up. "This is fun!" he told me turning up the stereo.

"Very" I agreed dancing a little on the spot.

"Bella it's our song!" Emmett yelled when Katy Perry's Hot N Cold came on.

"Oh! We have to dance!" I cried excitedly.

"_You change your mind like a girl changes clothes, yeah you PMS like a bitch I would know!" _we sang together.

"_And you always think, always speak cryptically, I should know that you're no good for me!"_

Being as drunk as we both were we came up with our own little dance for the chorus.

'_Cause you're hot then you're cold_

We sang licking our finger and touching our shoulders then Emmett would shake like he was cold.

_You're yes then you're no_

Thumbs up, thumbs down

_You're in and you're out_

Emmett pulled me towards him then I pushed him away.

_You're up and you're down_

He jumped I went down to the floor

_You're wrong when it's right_

Emmett shook his finger at me laughing

_It's black and it's white_

_We fight we break up _

Pretend slapping

_We kiss we make up_

Air kiss

We both collapsed on the sofa in fits of laughter. "We have to request that hic song at tthe partay tonight" Emmett slurred. "Then we can ssshow everyone our dance!"

"Yes!" I yelled enthusiastically.

"Holy sshit Bella Edward isss going to be ssssooooo pissed when he sssees I got youd drunk!"

I laughed "Why?" I demanded.

Emmett froze looking confused "I'm not ssssure" he slurred.

We both cracked up laughing again, "More like you'll be in trouble with Rose!" I told him poking him the chest.

For a second he looked terrified, "Nah when we let her try those drinksss we made ssshe'll be ssso impressed."

I nodded enthusiastically, "We have to make them all drink them. They are soooo good!"

"Do you know what would be fun?" Emmett asked.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Karaoke!" he shouted.

"Yes!" I yelled scrambling to my feet only to fall over straight away. "Oooops!" I laughed.

Emmett started to laugh with me, "Clumsy Bellsy!"

Just then we heard car doors slam and someone opening the door.

"Ssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Emmett whispered loudly. "Who's there?" he asked in a high pitched voice.

I burst out laughing again and Emmett joined in. "Your voice went so high!" I giggled.

Alice and Jasper walked into the living room.

"Why hello little Alice" shrieked Emmett, "Helllloooooo Jazzper!"

I began to laugh hysterically again.

"Hi guys" said Alice her eyes wide.

"Holy shit you two are drunk!" exclaimed Jasper.

"Touche!" answered Emmett.

We both burst into fits of laughter, just as Edward and Rose walking into the living room.

"Rosie!" cried Emmett struggling to his feet but failing.

"Now who's clumsy?" I mocked.

"It's contagious!" he laughed, "Watch out everyone Bella's catching!"

"What the...?" asked Rose looking confused then she laughed "Are you both drunk?"

"Very" I slurred struggling to my feet with Emmett's help. "We made these really yummy drinks."

"Oh yes!" Emmett nodded enthusiastically, "The Tropical Emmett and the Berry Bella, sooo good!" he smacked his lips together.

I nodded in agreement just as I spotted Edward watching us amused.

"Edward!" I cried excitedly.

"Hello love" he chuckled walking towards me and pulling me into his arms.

"I've been hanging out with Emmett and look" I announced pointing at my t-shirt.

"Very nice" he chuckled.

"Don't be jealous Ed, you'll all be getting one for Christmas" Emmett teased. "Aw shit I ruined the surprise" his face falling as he suddenly realised.

"We'll all act surprised" offered Rose, that seemed to cheer him up.

"Em and I wanted to make you one of our drinks" I told Edward looking up at him.

"Okay love" he answered helping me to the kitchen following the others.

"Bellsy, Rosie said we can make them all a drink but that we can't have anymore for a while" he told me pouting.

"Aw why?" I asked pouting too.

"She said we are too drunk, HA!"

"We are pretty drunk" I told him frowning.

He thought about that for a second, "Hahahahaha we are!" he agreed.

After the others had tried our drinks all assuring us they loved them Alice suggested we all go and get ready for the party before we drank anymore.

We all agreed except that it was too late in Emmett and my case. Alice and Rose picked out a pair of jeans, a black sleeveless top with embellishments and bright yellow heels for me to wear.

"Aw Allie why can't I just wear this t-shirt?" I asked tugging on the I heart Emmett shirt I was wearing.

"Because" she told me firmly.

"Rosie?" I asked.

Rose looked at me amused "When we all get them for Christmas then we will all wear them out kay?"

I thought it over, that seemed fair. "Okay" I agreed.

Alice glared at her causing Rose to laugh.

"All right well I'm ready, almost done Al? I'm keen to try and catch up to Emmett and Bella. By the way Bells, how many drinks have you two had today?" Rose asked.

"Ummm I have no idea!" I told her happily

Finally they were ready. Rose was wearing grey skinny jeans and a dark purple top of some kind with sparkly silver heels, while Alice was also wearing jeans and a sparkly blue top with matching heels.

In my intoxicated state I wasn't really able to focus on the finer points of their outfits, I was just eager to be with Edward and have another of Em's drinks.

We headed back downstairs where Edward, Emmett and Jasper were waiting for us

We all mixed some more drinks and ordered some pizza to balance out the alcohol. Before long Jasper was just as drunk as Emmett and myself.

When the cab arrived that Alice had called us, we all stumbled outside into the cold winter's air.

Ten minutes later we pulled up outside an apartment building where I assumed Riley lived. After paying the driver we headed up the stairs and to the party.

As soon as we got inside I felt as though I was being watched, I looked up to see James sauntering towards us.

Edward tightened his arm around me, "Hi there Bella your looking as lovely as always" he greeted me as he reached us. "Rose, Alice" he continued winking at them.

Rosalie stared him down unimpressed, "What do you want?' she spat.

"Ouch, icy reception" he drawled still looking at me.

"I was hoping you'd take the hint" she replied.

"Feisty aren't you blondie?" he asked her, "I like that."

"Back off James" snarled Emmett.

James rolled his eyes, "So Bella I'll see you around" he told me winking.

"What the hell does he want?" asked Edward angrily.

"It's James, who the fuck knows" replied Emmett.

After our encounter with James, Edward wouldn't leave my side all night. Finally I managed to convince him I could dash to the bathroom alone and make it back safely, he didn't look happy at the idea of me going on my own but I insisted then quickly made my way upstairs.

I found the bathroom easily and before I headed back down I checked my hair in the mirror, satisfied with my appearance but slightly frightened that I was indeed turning into Alice and Rose I opened the door and headed down the hall.

As I passed on of the bedrooms a door opened and someone pulled me inside closing the door. I wrenched my arm free and turned to look at who it was.

Of course it was James; he was standing up against the door clocking my exit. I glared at him and he laughed.

"No need to get angry I just wanted to have a quick chat" he told me.

"About what?" I demanded my happy drunk buzz now officially gone.

"The fact that you lied to me at the Halloween Party" he answered.

"I didn't lie" I replied, furious and just a little scared. He looked so intimidating.

"Oh but you did" he told me glaring at me, "You told me that Edward was your boyfriend, I found out that you only started up with him about a month ago" he leered at me.

"Well I really don't think that's any of your business" I replied crossing my arms.

"I think it is. I'll tell you now Bella Swan, one I don't like being lied to and two when I want something, or in this case someone I always get what I want."

A shiver went down my spine upon hearing those words, "So far my efforts may have failed but they won't" he told me taking a step towards me.

"Stay the hell away from me" I warned him.

He laughed, "Or what? You'll set you little boyfriend on me?"

He reached out to touch my face, I smacked it away.

He glared at me, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I wasn't going to back down, "If you'll excuse me I'll be going now."

"I don't think so" he replied smirking.

Panic washed through me, I slapped him with all my strength across the face.

He grabbed my wrists roughly, "I did warn you" he growled.

"Let go of me!" I shrieked.

Just then the door burst open; standing in the door way was a furious looking Edward and Emmett and they looked far more intimidating that James.

"Let her go" Edward growled stepping into the room.

"We were just talking" he smirked.

Emmett took a step closer to James looking far more menacing than I had ever seen him.

"Listen you bastard, my brother said let go of her" he spat.

"Oh it's so sweet" James taunted, "Can't you fight your own battles Edward? Do you need your big brother to stand up to the big bad bully for you?" He taunted and then let go of me and I hurried away from him towards Em and Edward.

Just as I reached them Edward walked towards James and stopped right in front of him.

"You won't hit me" James smirked. "You just don't have it in..."

He was cut off by Edwards's fist connecting with his face.

"Don't you ever touch her again" he growled.

I stared at the scene in front of me in horror, Emmett saw my face and put a comforting arm around me.

James scrambled to his feet, "You'll pay for that" he spat clutching at his sore cheek before stalking out of the room.

Edward turned to look at me, his expression softened immediately, "Are you okay love?" he asked striding towards me and taking my face in his hands. "Did he hurt you? Did he touch you other than your wrists?" he asked frantically.

"No, I'm fine, I'm okay" I told him.

"What happened?" asked Emmett concerned.

"I'll tell you all when we go home, can we go home?" I begged Edward.

"Of course my love" he told me helping me out of the room and downstairs.

We rounded up the others who all looked confused until Emmett gave them a brief run down, the confusion soon turned to fury.

"Where the fuck is he?" Rose demanded, "When I'm done with him he'll..."

"No Rose" Emmett told her, "As much as we all want to hunt him down we need to go, get Bella home."

We hurried towards the door; "Hey!" we heard a voice call. Riley jogged towards us; "Leaving already?" he asked frowning.

"Yes, your friend James threatened Bella, bailed her up in one of the rooms upstairs" Edward told him matter-of-factly.

"What?" asked Riley horrified.

"Yeah" added Emmett "Had her by the wrists, man he really is bad news."

"I'm so sorry Bella" Riley apologised.

I shook my head, "Riley it's not your fault, thanks for inviting us to the party."

Edward held me close to him while we waited for the cab and didn't let me go even when the cab did arrive. When we got home the gang assembled in the boys living room where I filled them all in on what had happened.

"So wait he said his efforts so far had failed? What does he mean by that?" asked Alice. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed her eyes wide.

"What?" we all asked concerned.

"Bella, I bet James was behind that guy that tried to kidnap you from campus" she whispered.

I stared at her in utter shock, could she be right? Could James be that dangerous?

"Yes, Alice you're right" Edward replied softly, "How did I not see it before?"

I stared at him incredulous, "You must be joking?"

"No love, it makes sense."

"How does it make sense? I asked.

"James has a somewhat unsavoury reputation" Jasper began to explain, "Which I'm sure by now you figured out. Let's just say that his 'friends' are not exactly nice people. Now I'm talking dealers here, people that have done time inside."

"It wouldn't be the first time he has gone to extreme lengths to get what he wants. When he first arrived here in Seattle half way through our first year at UW he began dating this girl, he was jealous of any men that talked to her and as a result was violent" Jasper continued.

"She broke up with him and he didn't take it well. All of a sudden she disappeared, no one saw her for a week. When the police searched her apartment they found nothing but a diary entry indicating she was depressed. They had already begun to treat her disappearance as a possible kidnapping and homicide but then they began to consider that perhaps she killed herself."

I stared at Jasper my mouth agape.

"About two weeks later they found her, her body was found in the woods with another note. It indefinitely looked like suicide so no one was charged."

"What about James? How could they not see he must have had something to do with it?" I asked.

"When all of this happened James's criminal record was clean, he was a good student, straight A's. She hadn't told anyone about James's violent behaviour even thought everyone knew. There was no proof as a result of her keeping quiet and he obviously had been careful in the weeks leading up to her disappearance has the police found no bruises or markings to suggest someone else was involved. Plus he had an alibi" Jasper told me.

"The most likely scenario there is he paid a friend with a clean background to lie for him, to say he was with him that night" Edward explained.

"You think he killed her?" I whispered.

"Yes" Jasper stated, "Bella he is dangerous and he wants you."

"That's why you were so protective of me at Halloween" I told Edward.

"Yes love, because I knew how I felt about you and would have done anything to protect you" he told me softly.

They were right, of course they were right; it was now one hundred percent obvious that James had had a part in the attempted kidnapping that night.

He was after me, meaning I was in more danger than I ever could have realised. It also meant my friends were in danger, that he could hurt them, hurt Edward. That scared me more than the thought of myself getting hurt.

"So what do I do?" I whispered.

"We" stated Rose, "You don't have to do anything alone honey and we are all in this as a group."

"We need to call Charlie love" Edward told me.

"No, no way Charlie will totally over react."

"Love, James is dangerous, incredibly so, he has every right to over react."

"Text him Bells, see if he's up he might be doing patrol tonight" Alice told me.

I picked up my phone and sent off a quick message to Charlie. Typically he didn't reply but rang instead.

"Hey honey what's wrong?"

"Hey Dad, ummmm I kinda need to talk to you about something. Promise me you won't over react okay?"

"Isabella I'll be the judge of whether or not I need to over react. What's wrong honey?"

"Umm someone has been threatening me" I told him wincing, waiting for Chief Swan to start his tirade.

"Who is he? Tell me who he is Bella" Charlie demanded.

"His name is James Walker" I told him after Edward whispered it to me.

Charlie then demanded I give him a rundown of what happened purposefully leaving out the part about the suspected murder.

"Bells honey, I just got Matt to run a background check, he's dangerous and he's been charged with drugs, wielding weapons and assault. I want you to hang up now and call the Seattle Police Station, file a report immediately, it looks like they have had a complaint about him recently and were trying to locate him anyway."

"I know you don't like people making a big fuss but you have to do this honey, he could hurt you" his voice broke making me tear up. "Not only that but he could hurt other people too."

"Okay Dad I promise" I told him honestly.

"Good girl, please Bella be careful" he begged.

"I will" I told him.

"Night honey, remember if you need anything just call? I'll keep close contact with the Seattle Department so I know what's going on."

"Okay, night Dad, thanks. I love you."

"I love you too Bells, always have always will."

I hung up choking back the sobs that were threatening to give away just how scared I really was, I blinked back the tears.

"I called the police Bells, they have asked us to make or way to the station immediately" Jazz told me softly. "We'll all be there; we'll all make statements and tell them what we know about everything."

"Thanks Jazz" I whispered.

We were at the police station for hours, each giving individual statements and telling them everything we knew about James Walker.

They did tell us however that without the proof they needed they couldn't investigate James on the death of Stacey Smith.

We headed home and compared notes on what was said to the police and what they had told us.

"You know" Jasper said thoughtfully, "There must be a way to give them the proof they need, to prove to them just how dangerous he really is."

"I agree" said Emmett.

"But how?" he asked thoughtful pondering for a moment.

"Laurent" said Emmett looking at Jasper and Edward, "We need to talk to Laurent, if anyone has any proof it would be him. Something he could turn into police that he wouldn't have thought to before."

"You are a genius Emmett!" Jasper exclaimed patting him on the back. Emmett looked rather pleased with himself.

Edward was nodding in agreement as were Rose and Alice.

"Who's Laurent?" I asked frowning.

"James old roommate, if anyone know anything that would be of any help it would be him" Emmett told me.

"Can he be trusted?" I asked worried.

"Yes, they are no longer friends. Laurent is smart enough to know that James can only equal bad news" Jasper replied.

We decided to pay Laurent a visit tomorrow, we all said goodnight and Alice and Rose went home to grab over night things for me since I had decided to stay with Edward.

He told me he would wait in his room for me while I had a shower in his en suite and got ready for bed.

As soon as I was alone it was harder to keep it together, I just managed to have a shower and dress myself before the full reality of what was happening set in. I slumped to the floor blinded by tears, sobs finally breaking their way free.

What if he hurt someone I loved, what if he got to Alice or Rose? I couldn't let that happen, Alice was so tiny and sweet or loving Rosalie, such a loyal friend.

What if it was Jasper he got too, level headed, kind Jasper. That would break Alice's heart. Or Emmett my burly, warm hearted big brother? Now that would hurt Rose too.

Worst of all what if he hurt Edward, my amazing, caring, wonderful Edward. I gasped for air, panicking.

"Bella?" asked Edward loudly his voice full of concern, "Open the door love please?" he begged. He tried the handle which I must have unlocked somehow and opened the door.

He looked down at me sobbing on the floor with a heart breaking expression, "Oh love" he whispered scooping me up from the floor. "Oh Bella love its okay" he whispered soothingly.

"I won't let him hurt you love" he murmured stroking my hair.

"Wh-hat iiif he hur hurts you?" I choked. "I co couldn't handle th that."

"Oh love he won't. It'll be okay, everything will be okay. I promise you Bella."

Edward held me, comforting me, until finally I fell in a fitful sleep plagued by nightmares.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Wow 30 reviews so far! Thank you for reviewing, hope you all are enjoying the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight SM does.**

**Chapter Songs: Alive – Shihad, Run - Shihad**

I woke in the morning feeling exhausted and as though I hadn't slept at all which was fairly close to the truth.

Edward and I met the others downstairs to discuss the finer points of our plan to visit Laurent.

"Jasper knows what we need and what to ask Laurent for so I think we definitely need him there" Emmett stated.

"I agree Em, I think too it'd be good if you could be there just in case" Edward told him.

Just in case, I didn't like hearing those words, I knew what that meant.

"You'll come too Ed?" asked Jasper.

He nodded "Yes."

"I'm coming too" I stated causing everyone to look at me.

"No love" Edward told me.

"No way Bells, you girls definitely need to sit this one out" Emmett added.

"Excuse me?" asked Rose peeved.

"It's just not safe Rosie" Emmett told her softly.

She glared at him, "Not safe? Well why are you going then? What happened to Laurent can be trusted we don't need to worry about him?"

"Yeah" piped up Alice, "We agreed last night we would do this as a group."

"No baby" Jasper replied. "We don't want to overwhelm Laurent by all showing up at his door."

Alice pouted back at him.

"Please love, just stay here. We won't be long I promise" Edward told me with scorching eyes. "I need to know you'll be safe just in case. If James shows up for some reason or another it'll throw a spanner in the works if you are there."

I couldn't argue with him when he looked and pleaded with me like that.

"Okay" I sighed still not happy with the arrangement.

After discussing their game plan as Emmett called it they left to see Laurent.

"I'm still pissed off they didn't think we were capable of going with them" Rose told us.

"I know" replied Alice, "Jasper thinks that I can't handle myself, he worries far too much."

"Stupid idiots" answered Rose causing us all to giggle.

**Edward's Point of View**

We pulled up outside Laurent's place in my Volvo, "Good his car's in the drive, he must be home" Emmett observed.

"Okay so just to clarify things here we have agreed that Jasper will do the majority of the talking here?" I asked.

Emmett and Jazz nodded in agreement, sure Em might be agreeing now but knowing him at some point he wouldn't be able to let Jasper have full control of the situation.

Jasper was definitely the most level headed out of the three of us; his father was a Major in the army when Jasper was growing up in Texas so it was inevitable that some of his father's knowledge would rub off onto him.

He was good at staying calm and talking to people in such a way that they wanted to open up to him, hopefully that would work to our advantage.

"Right" said Emmett rubbing his hands together, "Let's do this."

We got out of my car and walked up the narrow path to the front door. I knocked on the door three times and we waited.

Laurent opened the door and a smile crossed his face when he saw us.

"Hello Edward" he greeted me, "Jasper, Emmett, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Hello Laurent" replied Jasper politely, "We were wondering if perhaps we could talk to you about something."

"Of course, of course! Please do come in" he replied opening the door wider for us to enter the house.

"Thank you" Jasper replied.

"Now can I get you anything? A drink, a beer perhaps?" Laurent asked us playing the good host.

"Oh thank you Laurent but perhaps not just now" Jasper replied.

"Of course" he answered still smiling, "Come on through to the living room."

We followed him down the hall to the small but tidy room and sat down on the sofa.

Laurent looked at us expectantly, "I have a fair idea of what you want to talk about but just to be sure, how can I help?" he asked.

Jasper took a deep breath, "We wanted to have a talk to you about James" he told him.

"Ah my suspicions were correct" he smiled.

Jasper smiled back at him, "Are you two still friends?" he asked. Good Jasper, I thought, checking to see if indeed Laurent could be trusted with what we were about to ask.

"No most definitely not" he replied shaking his head and grimacing. "James is not the kind of person that makes a worthwhile friend unless of course trouble is what you are looking for" he told us.

Jasper nodded, "I'm not sure if you are aware but he has been causing a lot of trouble lately. He's been harassing Bella Swan."

Laurent looked at me, "Bella, Edward's girlfriend?" he asked.

"The very same" replied Jasper.

"I hadn't heard, but please do tell me. I hope that he hasn't hurt her? She seems like such a kind person" he said.

"Not yet, but that's what we are afraid of" replied Jasper.

"He's been threatening her" I jumped in unable to stay quiet any longer. "He eyed her up at the Halloween party and then bailed her up at Riley's last night. A while ago Bella was attacked on campus, they found and charged the person responsible but we can't help thinking that James was involved."

"I did hear about that, the attack I mean" he answered sadly, "Such a terrible thing to happen. I can see why you think James may be involved and I must say that I agree with you."

"You do?" asked Emmett incredulous.

"Yes, it has James written all over it. I still believe he had something to do with Miss Smith's disappearance too" he added. "That played a big part in my decision to distance myself from him, my suspicions of his involvement in that."

We looked at him in shock, I was expecting him to be helpful but not to this extent.

"We also think that" Jasper told him.

"You are worried he will do the same to Bella" Laurent stated.

I nodded my mouth suddenly dry.

"I can see why you would be concerned. I presume then that you came here for my help?" he asked.

"Yes" stated Jasper.

Laurent nodded, "I will do anything I can to help" he told us.

"Thank you" I told him, "Bella means so much to me; I won't let him hurt her."

"We will not even give him the chance to do so" Laurent reassured me. "Now tell me what you need."

Jasper explained to Laurent that we had been to the police and that they had informed us that without proof they could not re-open the case of Stacey Smith.

"We need proof of any kind, perhaps a photo with the bruises he gave her, anything" Jasper told him.

Laurent looked thoughtful for a moment, "You may just be in luck, in James's haste to move out he left some things behind. I never looked through them because I thought he would have come back for them if they were of any importance."

"Could we take a look?" asked Jasper.

"I think that would be a very good idea" Laurent answered. "I will go get the boxes, meet me in the kitchen and pull all the blinds, just in case he got wind of you coming here. We need to take precautions."

Jasper nodded and we did as Laurent asked. Within a few minutes he returned with a box. "There are two more, just in the hall closet" he told us.

"I'll help you" Emmett told him and they left the room to grab the other two boxes.

"Do you think...?" I began to ask Jasper.

"Yes, he really does want to help" he whispered, "We can trust him."

I nodded, Jasper had always been good at reading people and he had never been wrong about anyone.

Emmett and Laurent returned with another two smaller boxes. "Who would like to do the honours?" asked Laurent with a small smile after handing us each a pair of gloves to wear just as a precaution in case any of the items were used as evidence.

"You please" Jasper said indicating to the boxes.

"Of course" Laurent replied opening the box.

Most of it was just junk, a base ball glove and hat, both worn and old, a few magazines and old letters and receipts. We checked each item meticulously.

"Jackpot" Emmett said suddenly. He was holding up an envelope of photos, he eagerly took them out of their packet and began to sift through them.

Amongst them were a few photos of Stacey, in most she was covered up hiding any possible bruises. But then we found two that would be of interest.

"Holy shit" exhaled Emmett, "Look at her arms and neck in this one" he told us holding it up.

It was a photo of Stacey and James, she was sitting beside him, outside on a bench, he had his arm around her with a smile on his face. Her expression was strained, you could see the fear in her eyes and on her arms and neck were dark bruises.

"Oh yes, that was here, we had a barbeque one summer's evening and James asked me to take a photo of them both. She told me the bruises were the result of a fall of her bicycle. I never believed her" Laurent told us sadly.

The second photo was much the same as the first. "I think you should take those to the police" Laurent told us. "I am certain that they will be interested to see that. If only I had looked in the boxes to begin with perhaps he would have gotten caught when it happened"

"I was concerned he would come back for them however. He did not like people touching his things."

"You did nothing wrong Laurent" Jasper told him.

We continued to search through the boxes, "This looks like a journal" I told them holding up a worn looking book.

Laurent nodded, "I think you are right Edward, I did see James multiple times scribbling in that book. I am surprised he left that behind, although these days he is using drugs so much more heavily than before I think perhaps he has become careless."

I flicked through the book; most were drawings, scenes of trees and other wildlife. But halfway through the journal the mood changed, there were drawings of a girl. Violent images with angry words etched into the paper.

I showed Laurent, Jazz and Em. Laurent shook his head sadly, "That's Stacey he used to draw her a lot. In the beginning those pictures were lovely; he showed them to me once, that was before things changed however."

I added it to the pile to take to the police.

The box unearthed nothing else so we moved on to the next one. There was nothing of any help in the next so we opened up the last box hopeful we would find something else.

Laurent picked out a wooden box, kind of similar to a jewellery box but bigger.

"Hmmm it's locked" he muttered showing us.

"Is there a key anywhere in there?" asked Jasper.

"Nope" replied Emmett.

"Well we will just have to break into it then" Laurent replied getting up and walking down the hall. He returned with a small hammer

He wrenched open the box, bypassing the heavy lock. He gasped when he saw what was inside.

"What is it?" Jasper asked curiously.

Laurent gulped. "My suspicions were right!" he said in horror. "You were all right."

Jasper looked at me with wide eyes and then Laurent tipped the contents of the wooden box onto the table.

"Fuck" Emmett exhaled looking down.

Jasper jumped up from the table and vomited into the kitchen sink.

"Fuck he did do it." I whispered.

Laurent looked up at me horrified, "We must go to the police immediately."

I nodded in agreement, "Let's go now."

Laurent grabbed a bag and placed the evidence inside. We quickly ran to my car and piled inside heading straight to the police station.

**Bella's Point of View**

"They've been gone for ages" Alice remarked looking at the clock, "That must mean they found something."

I glanced at her; she must have seen the worry etched into my face.

"Oh honey don't worry everything will be just fine" she reassured me sitting down beside me and putting her arm around me.

"I hope so" I whispered.

"It will Bells" Rose told me sitting down on my other side and I lay my head on her shoulder.

Finally after a tense few hours we heard their key in the lock. We all jumped up to greet them as they walked into the living room.

I stared at Edward trying to read the emotion on his face. "Bella this is Laurent" he introduced me.

"Bella it's wonderful to meet you. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"And you" I replied as he shook my hands.

"What happened?" asked Rose seeing the haunted expressions.

"Sit down" Jasper told us gently. "I'll tell you everything."

We all sat down quickly, Edward beside me with his arm around me and Laurent opposite us on a chair.

"Obviously Laurent agreed to help us since he's here with us" he started, smiling at Laurent.

"Thank you" I told him in a small voice.

He smiled at me "It is my pleasure Bella."

"Laurent told us that he agreed with our theories and that he too believed James played a part in Stacey's death. He said that he would help in any way he could to help us. He informed us that James had forgotten a few things when he moved out suddenly and that he had never looked through them as a mark of respect for James's hatred of people touching his things" Jasper told us.

"Laurent agreed that we should look at what was in there in case there was anything that would be of any help to provide to the police as evidence. We searched through the boxes and found some photos showing Stacey's bruises and a journal with some disturbing pictures and things he had written" he continued.

"We found something else too that cemented the idea that he had indeed killed Stacey so we decided to go to the police immediately."

"What was it?" asked Alice. "What did you find?"

Jasper looked at Edward, Emmett and Laurent, their expressions pained. Edward nodded once.

"We can't not tell them" Emmett said quietly.

Jasper nodded and took a deep breath. "We found a locked wooden box, Laurent broke it open to see what was inside" he paused.

We all stared at him waiting, "Inside was..." he stopped to breathe again.

"I will tell them" Laurent said patting Jasper on the back, he nodded in agreement.

"Inside was a knife, covered in dry blood, it was the knife he killed her with and some photos of her after he did it" Laurent said sadly shaking his head. "It was so horrible."

All you could hear were gasps.

I stared at Laurent unable to process what he just said. I felt frozen, unable to speak. I felt Edward rubbing my arm to comfort me.

Just then there was a knock at the door. We all froze staring at one another.

"I'll get it" Emmett told us, "Stay here just in case."

He got up from the sofa and walked out into the hall, we heard him greet whoever was at the door and after some murmuring he returned with a slim envelope.

"It was a courier, it's for you Bella" he told me frowning at the envelope. "There's no return address on it or anything."

I held out my hand for the envelope, Emmett handed it to me and I opened it with shaking hands.

There was a folded piece of paper inside, I unfolded it and took a deep breath.

_Isabella_

_Did you really think that getting the law involved would help you now?_

_Now you know my secret you have made things a lot more dangerous for you and your friends. I suggest you begin to see things my way before someone gets hurt. _

_Remember I warned you, I ALWAYS get what I want, you will be no exception. This will all end soon..._

I was trying not to completely freak out; panic was washing through me in waves. I began to gasp for air; a full blown panic attack was imminent.

"Bella what's wrong? What does it say?" Edward begged.

I handed him the letter with shaking hands, everyone was watching Edward as he read the letter. He dropped it immediately running his hands through his hair.

Laurent picked it up and read it aloud for everyone to hear.

"We need to leave" Edward said in a strained voice, "We have to get Bella out of Seattle before" he stopped unable to finish.

"Yes, that would be the wisest thing to do" Laurent confirmed, "I think I perhaps will leave town for a while, go and stay with a friend in California. James will catch wind of me helping before long and then I will not be safe either."

"Thank you for helping us" Jasper told him, "For getting involved in this even though this could affect you."

"It's no problem at all, he needs to be stopped. I hope this time we succeed" he told us earnestly. "I hope to perhaps that although these are horrible circumstances we can perhaps be friends?"

Emmett nodded and gave him a half smile, "I think Laurent that after this we definitely will be."

"I'm glad, stay safe Bella. All of you be careful" he said making his way to the front door.

I was still freaking out; Edward was holding me close and telling me things would be okay.

"We should leave tonight" Jasper said suddenly breaking the silence for the first time since Laurent left.

"I agree" replied Emmett, "Where should we go?"

They looked at Edward, "Port Angeles" he said simply. "Mom and Dad will help in any way they can, the security at the house is like Fort Knox."

Emmett nodded "We should travel in two cars, ones that aren't so obvious, Edward's and Jasper's would be good."

Rose nodded in agreement, "The other cars would draw far too much attention to us, plus the windows in Ed and Jazz's cars are dark that will help."

"Emmett and I will go pack bags for ourselves and Edward, Allie and Rose you go upstairs and do the same. Be as quick as you can" Jasper said.

"We will, I'll pack a bag for you too Bella honey" Alice told me.

"Thank you" I managed to gasp out.

Within ten minutes everyone was reassembled in the living room, ready to leave. Jasper informed us that he had received a call from the Police just a few minutes ago and that James had managed to escape as they stormed his house to arrest him.

"We need to be vigilant" he told us, "Call each other if we see anything suspicious, like someone following us." Emmett was going to be our cell phone correspondence with Alice in the other car.

Emmett and Jasper threw the bags into the cars. Edward was going to be driving Emmett and I while Jasper would drive Alice and Rose.

We sped out of the town limits quickly with Jasper's car leading the way.

Before long Emmett said the words that we had been dreading since we left.

"I think someone's following us" Emmett said turning around in his seat to get a better look.

"Are you sure?" asked Edward checking the mirrors.

Suddenly the car sped up following us closer.

"Jasper is a genius" he said suddenly pulling a pair of binoculars out of his bag. "I wondered why he made me pack these, now I know!"

He stared out the back windows and into the car behind us. "It's James. Edward I'm calling Alice then the police."

My heart started to race, Edward put his hand on my leg.

"Love, don't panic, it's going to be fine" he told me soothingly.

"Alice he following us, get Rose to call the cops now!" Emmett barked into the phone. "Tell Jasper to keep driving and don't stop!"

"Rose has the police on the phone, she gave them the co-ordinates on the GPS and they are on their way." Emmett informed us. "They told her as soon as we hear the sirens or see them to pull over."

Within five minutes we heard sirens, lots of sirens. Edward pulled over suddenly following Jasper's lead. James sped past us up the straight tree lined high way.

We watched anxiously as one car chased him towards another speeding cop car in the opposite direction. James's car swerved, he lost control. His car began to fish tail, still going too fast, wildly out of control until he smashed head on into a power pole.

"Oh fuck" exhaled Emmett.

I couldn't believe what was happening, what I was seeing in front of me. I watched as the police cars came to a halt beside the wrecked car, they stepped out guns raised.

One was on his radio no doubt calling for an ambulance, another got back into his car and drive back towards us.

As he reached us we stepped out of the car.

"Miss Swan?" the Officer asked me.

"Yes?" I replied timidly.

"I will need you and your friends to answer a few questions for us" he told me.

"Yes, of course" I answered in a shaky voice.

I took a deep breath and told him what had happened after we left home to drive to Port Angeles; I showed him the note James had sent me today.

After questioning us all in turn, he turned to me and said in a kind voice, "It's all over now Miss Swan; I can confirm that the ambulance officers have pronounced James Walker as dead."

I sank to the ground, I felt so relieved tears began to stream down my face.

Edward sank to his knee beside me, "It's okay now love, it's all over. You're safe" he said kissing my hair.

I don't really remember driving back home, someone must have made the decision to turn back and not carry on to Port Angeles.

I had come so close to the very worst kind of danger but somehow that wasn't what was bothering me the most. It was the fact that my friends and Edward had come so close to being hurt or worse, I couldn't make myself think the word.

Poor Edward, he had gone through so much being with me. I felt certain he would be sick of all of the drama and hassle we had gone through to get to where we were today.

"Bella love we're home" Edward said to me softly stirring me from my thoughts.

"Oh" I exclaimed looking out the car window, sure enough he was right.

He got out of the car and walked around to my door, opening it for me and helping me out.

"Are you okay Bella?" he asked me putting his arm around me.

"Yes" I said in a small voice.

"Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" he asked me softly.

"I want to be alone with you" I told him looking up at his glorious face.

He led me upstairs to my room with my bag slung over his other shoulder.

"Please talk to me Bella, let me know what you are thinking?" he begged and the strange part was he looked worried.

I sat down on the bed next to him and sighed "I feel terrible that you and the others got put in danger because of me" I mumbled.

"You could have been hurt or" I paused, "Or worse. I would have never been able to forgive myself."

"Bella love none of this is your fault" he told me gently, "Please don't blame yourself for any of this."

I looked at him trying to blink back the traitor tears threatening to turn me into a blubbering mess; he looked so concerned about me.

"I hate that I have put you through so much since we started dating. First Jake, now this" I looked at my feet not able to meet his eyes. "I would understand if it is all a bit too much for you" I mumbled.

"Oh Bella, is that what's worrying you the most?" he asked.

I nodded in confirmation.

"You mean the world to me Bella and I would do anything for you" he told me passionately. "I love you Bella, nothing will ever change that."

I looked into his sparkling green eyes and smiled for the first time today, "I love you too Edward" I told him kissing his gently on the lips.

We stayed upstairs a while longer, talking calmly about what had happened. It made me feel better to get it all out so I could move past the whole ordeal.

When we headed downstairs, Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jazz where all there. Rose was in the kitchen making dinner with Jasper's help while Alice and Emmett where watching a sitcom on TV.

Alice jumped up from the sofa when she saw us walk into the room; she walked over to me and hugged me tightly. I smiled when she pulled away, "Are you okay?" she asked me concerned.

"Yeah, I think so, I just needed some time to get my head around it" I answered.

She nodded understandingly, "Come and sit with us" she said gesturing to the sofa where Emmett was sitting smiling at me.

I went and settled down on the sofa next to Alive with Edward on my other side, none of them bought it up again while we sat and watched the TV, it was nice to just carry on as we normally would.

When we settled around the table to eat, I decided I needed to say just one more thing to my friends before closing of the compartment in my brain that contained the memory of the James ordeal.

"Thank you" I said, they all looked at me.

"For what Bells?" Rose asked me.

"For everything, for putting yourselves in danger to help me. Thank you" I told them sincerely.

"That's what family is for little sis" Emmett said kindly with a smile.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's note: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! I love hearing your feedback on the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, not even a little piece =( I do own copies of all of the books though!**

**Chapter Songs: Party in the U.S.A – Miley Cyrus and Bright Lights, Bigger City – Cee-lo Green**

News of what had happened to James had spread fast, I swear all of campus knew about my ordeal and his demise before the first lecture had even started on Monday morning. While I was dealing with everything pretty well considering I still wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone. To be honest I didn't think I ever would be.

The only person I had to explain everything to had been Charlie and to say he freaked out completely would be an understatement.

Luckily none of my other friends outside my little family asked me anything although they were being a little more careful around me. I figured I knew why, Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper and Edward were all being very protective of me at the moment so I figured one of them had told people I needed some space.

For that I was very grateful, time and space was exactly what I needed now, that and getting back to reality. Reality for me right not meant and essay to complete by the end of the week and a research project, both seemed relatively easy as the subject matter was right up my alley.

There was also a birthday party to organise, Jasper was turning twenty two next Saturday and Alice had some very elaborate ideas of what we could do for Jasper's birthday.

That evening Rose and I were helping Alice finalise Jasper's birthday plans which meant no Edward. I had pouted when she told them they were banned from our place tonight until Edward told me he would come and rescue me later. At least if Alice got a little over bearing I would have something to look forward to.

I volunteered to cook dinner, staying busy was exactly what I needed. I picked something that would require full concentration, chicken fajitas. After eating we settled back down in the living room while Alice crossed ideas off her list that she had vetoed.

Alice sighed loudly, her brow creased as she looked down at her list. "I really want to do something special for Jasper's birthday. I think we all need to let our hair down and have a little fun" she told us.

"Maybe we should head out of town for the weekend then?" I suggested.

"That's a great idea Bells!" Alice told me her enthusiasm evident. "Where shall we go?" she asked no one in particular.

"I kinda had an idea when I was cooking dinner about that too" I told them both. "How would you feel about a weekend in Las Vegas?" I asked biting my lip.

Alice's eyes lit up "Ooo yes that would be so much fun! What do ya say Rose?"

"I say it's a damn good idea. Vegas baby!" she exclaimed.

"Then Vegas it is!" Alice squealed.

After organising the finer points of our weekend in Vegas such as flights and hotel rooms, Alice told me to text Edward and let him know he could come and steal me away. I did so gladly before she could change her mind by remembering something else we needed to arrange.

"How was your evening?" Edward asked me as I lay comfortably in his arms on my bed.

"It was good, we got Jasper's birthday weekend all sorted" I told him.

"Ah so am I allowed to know about said birthday weekend?" he asked in an amused tone.

I giggled, "Yes, but only if you promise not to let it slip to Jasper, otherwise Alice will cause you a world of pain."

He chuckled in response, "That sounds like the terrifying little pixie we know and love."

I laughed "That's Allie for you. I suggested to her that we go away somewhere, you know to get out of town."

I felt him nod in agreement, "I pitched the idea that maybe Las Vegas would be fun and she thought it was a brilliant idea."

"A weekend in Las Vegas, Jasper is going to love that! Nice work love" he told me kissing my hair.

_Later that week_

Not knowing what Alice had planned for his birthday was driving Jasper insane. She had told him we had all planned a surprise trip for his birthday weekend and that he wasn't allowed to know where we were going until we arrived at the airport to catch our flight out on Friday.

He knew he was the only one who didn't know where we were going so he had taken to trying sneaky ways of extracting clues from us so he could piece the puzzle together.

I had to admit it made me feel a little better about myself that I wasn't the only one who didn't have the patience for surprises. But that didn't mean I was going to help Jasper out! Alice would never forgive me.

Jasper had targeted Emmett first, knowing full well like the rest of us did that Emmett was always the first one to slip up and give something away due to the fact that he was so excited. This time however Emmett was not budging.

"Jazz I'm not going to tell you anything" he said firmly one evening when we were all hanging out together.

"Aw come on Em just a little clue?" he begged while Alice was out of the room.

"No way man, that little pixie is scary! She threatened me! She told me if I tell you anything I have to let her pick out my outfits for a week, a whole week Jasper!"

Despite my determination to not laugh I couldn't help myself, a small giggle escaped. Honestly the way he was talking about it you'd think Alice was going to put bamboo splinters under his finger nails.

"Oh you think that's funny do you!" exclaimed Emmett turning on me, "Didn't she threaten you too?" he asked me.

"She threatened me" Edward piped up; "If I tell you anything she gets to drive my Volvo for a week!" he shuddered. "Have you seen the way she thrashes her car? My poor car wouldn't last a whole day let alone a week."

Alice chose to walk into the room at that very moment. "Don't think I won't follow through either" she said pointedly looking at all of us.

"My lips are sealed" replied Edward with a zipping motion.

Alice gave him a nod and a smile. "I don't need to ask Bella twice she knows what's at stake."

I nodded "I won't say a word."

"Neither!" exclaimed Rose.

"Good, well that just leaves you big mouth" said Alice turning to face Emmett.

"Big mouth!" he asked shocked.

"Yes, due to your tendency to accidently blurt things out when you aren't supposed to" Alice told him.

"When have I ever done that?" asked Emmett incredulously.

"How about when I was six and Mom and Dad had got me that really cool truck for my birthday. You had seen them wrapping it and blurted out what it was before I even got the wrapping off!" Edward exclaimed.

"Oh well that was one time" said Emmett waving his hand.

"Or how about when that boy at our school told you Santa wasn't real so you immediately came home and told Ed and me. We were seven and terrified that we weren't going to get any presents that year" Jasper piped up.

"Awwwwww" we girls all said in unison.

"Okay fair enough then. I swear I won't tell him anything!" he told Alice.

_The next week_

Thursday had finally arrived! Tomorrow we would be flying out to Las Vegas and we were all looking forward to it. Emmett was particularly excited which was rubbing Jasper up the wrong way because he still didn't know where we were headed.

"This weekend is going to be awesome!" he exclaimed suddenly as we were eating dinner.

Jasper scowled at him.

He gave Jasper an evil grin "It must be so frustrating not knowing where we're going Jazz" he mocked.

"I swear Emmett if you don't shut the hell up I'll smack that smirk right of your face" replied a tetchy Jasper.

Emmett booming laugh filled the room. "Yeah but then you'll still be pissed off cause you still won't know where we're going!"

"I swear you two are like a couple of eight year olds" sighed Rose.

Alice just rolled her eyes in response.

After dinner Edward came upstairs to help me pack.

"I can't believe you've packed already!" I groaned as I attempted to pull my luggage out of the hall closet.

He chuckled "Here love let me" he pulled the case out of the closet with ease and carried into my room. "I can't believe Alice hasn't packed for you."

I smirked "She thinks I can handle it myself now. I have officially graduated her course in how to pack your luggage for every situation."

"I'm so proud" he teased.

"You should be, not everyone passes with flying colours" I replied.

He walked up to me and put his arms around me. "It makes me so happy to see you happy again love" he murmured. "After everything you've gone through these past few weeks it's nice to see you smiling again."

"You play a big part in that" I told him looking up into his sparkling green eyes.

"I'm glad. I'd do anything to make you happy" he smouldered.

"I have an idea on how you could make me happy right now" I told him trailing my finger down his chest.

"It'd be my pleasure" he replied huskily, kicking shut my bedroom door.

_The next day_

When I woke on Friday morning my first thoughts were of how amazing last night with Edward had been and the second was that I still hadn't packed for Vegas.

"Shit" I cursed under my breath.

"Good morning to you too love" replied an amused voice.

Hey you" I replied running my hands through his messy sex hair.

"I had hoped last night wasn't that bad" he teased.

"Oh! No babe it wasn't bad at all, far from it!" I hurried to explain.

"I'm just teasing Bells" he chuckled.

I sighed in relief, "I actually just realised I got so side tracked last night I forgot to pack" I told him blushing.

"Ah" he replied looking at the suitcase lying open on the floor with only a few items of clothing spilling out of it. "You'll have plenty of time after classes have finished I'll help" he promised me.

Edward stayed true to his word, as soon as class had finished we sped home so I could finish packing my bag.

I had just finished packing and Edward had dragged my luggage downstairs when Alice and Rose arrived home. Alice was bouncing with excitement.

"Oh good Bella you're ready, the cab will be here any minute" she squealed bouncing up and down before rushing off upstairs to grab her own bag with Rose following her.

"Well I think it's safe to say she's excited" I commented.

"Wait till you Emmett" Edward replied amused.

I didn't have to wait long within seconds Emmett burst through the front door with Jasper trailing behind. Emmett had the biggest grin on his face while Jasper looked irritated.

"You look proud of yourself" Edward commented.

"I am! I didn't give away any clues! No Alice punishment for me" Emmett exclaimed.

"There's still the cab ride to the airport" Edward told him, "You'll have to keep your mouth shut for a while longer."

"Sweet that gives me more time to annoy the fuck out of Jasper" he replied with an evil grin. "Hey Jazz guess what?"

"What?" asked Jasper eagerly.

"I know where we're going and you still don't" Emmett replied laughing.

"Fuck you Emmett" was Jasper's reply.

"Children settle down" scolded Rose as she came downstairs. "Emmett quit antagonising Jasper would you?"

"Sorry Rosie" said Emmett sheepishly.

A loud honking noise sounded from outside, "Great the cab's here!" exclaimed Alice as she dragged her luggage down the stairs.

"Let's hit the road and finally put Jazz out of his misery" Rose told us.

The ride to the airport was quiet since Rosalie had threatened Emmett with no sex for a week if he didn't stop annoying Jasper. That shut Emmett up immediately; he knew as well as the rest of us that when Rose made a threat she meant it.

When we arrived we headed straight for the domestic terminal and stood in front of the large board showing all the flights leaving Seattle that afternoon.

Jasper looked at Alice with a pleading look in his eyes. Alice didn't say a word, she just slipped an envelope into Jasper's hands. He opened it his eyes widening.

"We're going to Las Vegas?" he asked her.

"Surprise!" she squealed.

"Alice this is "Jasper was lost for words, he picked Alice up and spun her around before planting a kiss on her lips.

"Vegas baby!" shouted Emmett.

Thankfully the plane ride was a short one because I was fairly certain the vast majority of the passengers on our flight couldn't handle much more of Emmett. Beyond excited about our trip to Vegas he just couldn't shut up and this was not helped by the fact that now that Jasper knew where we were headed he wouldn't shut up either. The situation was made worse by the fact that he had decided to get a head start on the weekend's festivities by having a few drinks on the plane.

They both keep shouting Vegas baby in the middle of conversations, Alice was just as excited as they were but I could tell it was starting to wear thin with Rose.

When we finally landed you could practically hear the sighs of relief from the other passengers.

Once we got our luggage we headed out the front to catch a couple of cabs. Rose had the brilliant idea of suggesting Alice, Jasper and Emmett all go in one while the rest of us went in the other. I thanked Rose profusely; she told me it was the only way to keep our sanity before we could get our hands on some alcohol.

As we drove to the hotel I started to get excited myself and in true Alice fashion began semi bouncing in my seat. I had never been to Las Vegas so I was curious to see if the movies did it justice.

When we pulled up outside our hotel and stepped out of the cab I could already tell that it was going to be a wild weekend.

We all agreed we would go and get settled in our rooms and meet in the living room in an hour. Alice had gone all out and booked a three bedroom suite for the trip. I hated to think how much it had cost her but she insisted that there would be no expense spared for Jasper's birthday.

The hour went by far too quickly for my liking; spending time alone with Edward was by far my favourite was to spend my time.

"There you are!" exclaimed Alice as we walked into the room. "We were just about to come and drag you away from each other."

I blushed even though we hadn't been doing what they thought we'd been doing.

"What's the plan for tonight?" asked Edward lounging on the sofa and pulling me into his lap.

"Dinner then a show?" suggested Alice.

We all nodded in agreement, "Are we going to get blind drunk tonight or save that for tomorrow night?" asked Emmett.

"I think I'd like to remember my birthday this year" Jasper said thoughtfully causing us all to laugh.

"Blind drunk tomorrow night then" Emmett stated, "Excellent."

_The next day_

"Happy birthday Jasper!" we all shouted the next morning when he finally made his way out onto the balcony where we were all having breakfast.

"Aw thanks guys" he said sitting down.

After breakfast and presents Alice announced we were going to spend the day at the carnival which Jasper and Emmett got very excited about. In the evening Jasper had requested that we all go out for dinner and drinks and then hit up the casinos. We all agreed and went and got ready for the day.

I decided that jeans and a simple striped tank top would suffice for a trip to the carnival, because let's be honest we were taking two over grown children along and a very excitable pixie. Things were bound to be thrown or spilt.

Throwing on a pair of sunglasses and grabbing my bag I met the others in the living room and then we headed down to the lobby,

"It's not far away so maybe we could walk" suggested Alice.

With that we headed off down the main strip in Vegas to where you could see a Ferris wheel spinning in the near distance.

Jasper stated he wanted to try out a few rides first so we all agreed and followed him to where the bumper cars were.

"You are so going down Whitlock" Emmett said gleefully as he got into his bumper car with Rose.

"Not likely Cullen, Alice is driving; you'll be the one going down!" Jasper retorted with an evil grin.

Emmett actually looked worried for a second. "You're letting the pixie behind the wheel?" he gulped.

"Damn straight Emmett, watch your back" she told him with an evil grin.

"Why can I see this ending badly already?" I whispered to Edward.

"You know them too well" Edward chuckled, "Have you ever seen them on these things?" he asked gesturing to the bumper car.

I shook my head "Maybe I should drive then" he told me.

Letting Edward drive the bumper car turned out to be one of the best decisions I had ever made. Emmett and Alice were ruthless.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" laughed Emmett as he rammed straight up the back of Alice and Jasper's bumper car with such force it slammed into the wall.

Alice turned around in her seat and glared at him "You'll pay for that Emmett Cullen!" she screeched as she spun the car around quickly and chased after them Emmett still cackling with laughter.

"Don't worry, she'll get him back later. They have a water version of these here" Edward told me.

I looked at him in horror "Bumper boats?" I asked him "What idiot thought making bumper cars into boats and putting them in a giant pool seemed like a good idea?'

Edward laughed at me "I'm picking it was someone with the same mentality that Emmett has."

I laughed in response just as Edward dodged out of the way of Emmett speeding towards us.

"Ooo nice manoeuvre little bro" shouted Emmett over the noise.

Eventually our time was up so we decided to move on to something else. Emmett led us over to where there were games that we sure to be rigged claiming he wanted to win Rose a giant stuffed animal.

"He says he wants to win one for me but really he wants one. He just doesn't want to look like a girl in front of Jazz and Edward" Rosalie whispered to me.

I let out a small giggle.

"Look Rosie" Emmett shouted at her as he threw rings at bottles attempting to get them over the necks. "Start picking your prize baby!"

"You pick Emmett, I'll love it no matter what" she replied winking at me.

Minutes later he joined us triumphant while Alice, Rose and I were watching Edward and Jasper try to get as many balls through the basketball hoop as they could before the timer stopped.

"Look what I won!" he exclaimed showing us what was quite possibly the ugliest soft toy in existence.

"What's it supposed to be?" asked Rose cocking her head and looking at it with one eyebrow raised.

"It's a monkey!" replied Emmett looking at her confused. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked.

"Well now that you mention it" Alice told him taking it off him for a closer look. "Actually no it still doesn't look like a monkey" she giggled handing it back to him.

"Don't worry I still think you look like a monkey Steve" Emmett told the monkey patting its head.

It was too much we all erupted into laughter. "You named the monkey Steve?" choked out Rose.

"Yes I did!" replied Emmett indignant, "He looks just like a Steve!"

"What are we laughing about?" asked Jasper. I turned to see him and Edward walking towards us each with a toy stuffed under their arms.

"Emmett named his monkey thing Steve" said Alice causing us all to start laughing again.

"Yeah Emmett's my now my monkey man" laughed Rose

Jasper and Edward looked at us like we were crazy, "I guess you had to be there" Jasper told Edward with a shrug of his shoulders. "Here Allie, this is for you" he said proudly handing Alice a very cute butterfly soft toy.

"Oh it's so cute!" she squealed.

"Not as cute as Steve" Emmett said, "Hmm can I name it for you?" he asked Alice.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Okay" she said after a moment.

"This is for you love" said Edward handing me a cute furry tiger toy.

"Oh can I name that too!" asked Emmett excitedly.

"I'm dating a three year old" said Rose sadly shaking her head.

Before Emmett got a chance to name the soft toys Jasper announced we should go and get something to eat and then perhaps try out the bumper boats.

At the mention of food Emmett forgot all about everything else and eagerly walked ahead with Jasper eyeing up all the food stands. We could hear them debating about whether they should get hotdogs or churros.

"It's times like these when I feel a little envious of you Bella. At least your boyfriend acts like an adult" Rose faked sighed.

I laughed "I would say you could borrow him for a bit but I don't really want to share Edward" I replied grabbing his arm.

"Ah well, I'll just have to settle with the immature older brother then" she laughed winking at me.

Jasper and Emmett finally decided that we should have hotdogs now and churros later. We each got a dog with our favourite toppings and headed towards the bumper boats.

We stood and watched the other people zooming around while we finished eating. I noticed that only one person per boat was allowed, this was not going to be good for me.

"Do you remember the last time we all went to the amusement park in Seattle and went on these?" Alice asked the group.

"Yes, that was hilarious!" Rose replied with a grin. "Edward and Emmett ganged up on Jasper and hit his boat so hard Jasper fell out" she told me.

They all chuckled at the memory even Jasper, "It was pretty funny" he mused.

Before I knew it we were up next. Emmett grinned at me evilly "Don't worry Bells it's great fun!" he exclaimed.

Edward put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, "Make sure you don't let Emmett out of your sight love."

"Oh I won't" I replied with a grin.

We all got into out bumper boats and when the buzzer sounded we were off, surprisingly I was good at it! I managed to ram into Emmett so hard his boat spun around putting him right in Jasper's path.

"Woooooo pay backs a bitch!" shouted Jasper as a wave of water washed over Emmett.

"I'll get you for that!" he yelled in reply ramming into my boat.

Alice shrieked as Edward hit her boat spraying her with water and sending her spinning which led her to crash into my boat.

Ten minutes later we were all pretty wet and decided to go and dry off on the Ferris wheel.

"Wow the view up here is amazing!" I said to Edward as we reached the top of the wheel. "It's so beautiful."

"Its alright" he replied.

I looked at him confused, "It doesn't compare to you my love" he told me kissing me full on the lips. Thankfully Emmett and the others couldn't see what we were doing and spoil the moment.

I snaked my arm around Edward and pulled him closer letting his tongue into my mouth. He pulled away after a minute or two and said in a husky voice, "We better end that now before I get too carried away."

My cheeks flushed with pleasure. "I really am partial to that colour against you skin" he said brushing my cheek gently.

It turned out we weren't the only ones who got a little carried away on the Ferris wheel, both of the other couples looked a little flushed when they stepped of the ride. We decided it was time to call it a day and head back to the suite to chill out before the big night ahead.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note: A big thanks to all of my super wonderful reviewers, 39 reviews and counting! I love hearing your feedback, so keep em coming! I have a question for all my lovely readers, who's your favourite character from This Time is Ours so far? I'm curious...**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Twilight but SM does.**

**Chapter Songs: We R Who We R – Ke$ha, Waking Up in Vegas – Katy Perry**

After our crazy afternoon at the carnival the girls and I decided to get a head start on getting ready for our big night out for Jasper's birthday in Vegas. Our other halves had happily settled in the living room to watch whatever game was on with some beers telling us to take our time.

"Well that's a first" remarked Rose as we started pulling beauty products and makeup from our toiletry bags and covering the counter in Alice and Jasper's en suite bathroom. "They actually said take your time, I don't think Emmett has ever uttered those words before."

We all laughed, "Oh well it gives us more time to get ready for tonight!" Alice replied happily. "Have you decided what you're wearing?" she asked both of us.

"I'm starting to think I might just wear this robe" Rose told us "It's so freaking soft!"

"That'd be hilarious, but you do realise Emmett would by trying to undo the tie all night don't you?" Alice giggled.

Rose rolled her eyes "He totally would" she replied taking a sip of her wine.

"Bella what are you going to wear?" asked Alice.

"Ummmm" I stood and stared at my luggage, "Maybe this dress?" I asked holding a little black dress up to myself and looking at them for approval.

"Ooooo yes!" Alice squealed.

"Very sexy" added Rose, "What do you think red or blue?" she asked holding two dresses up.

"Red!" Alice and I both told her.

"Exactly what I was thinking" she replied nodding.

We hung our dresses up on the closet door handle and began to do our hair and makeup. As the men had suggested we decided to take our time, chatting about the evening ahead and polishing off a bottle of wine.

When we were done we stood in front of the mirror together and checked our appearances. Rose was a total knockout in a red Herve Leger bandage dress. It was a deep V neck dress with a cut out back and the zipper ran out the front. She was wearing dangerous looking gold stilettos, her golden hair was out and wavy and her makeup looked phenomenal.

"Emmett won't be able to stop staring at your girls all night" giggled Alice.

"Well they kinda are right in your face with this dress aren't they?" Rose asked pushing them up a little.

"Just a bit" I replied giggling with Alice.

Alice was wearing a deep V necked dress too with a cut out back, though hers had much thinner straps than Rose, the straps were black leather and there was a thin leather band that ran around her waist. It was an animal print dress in various shades of blue and black. Her heels were high, strappy and glittery black. Her hair was poker straight and half pinned back.

"I don't know why you're going on about my girls being out look at you too!" Rose remarked suddenly looking at Alice and my reflections.

"Hey it's Vegas" said Alice with a shrug.

We had decided that we were going to go with uniformity tonight so I also had on a dress with a plunging V neck line and a cut out back. Mine however was black and covered in square sequins. I had to admit it did look really good on and Rose was right about the girls, they were definitely on show tonight. I don't think I had ever worn a dress that showed so much cleavage!

My shoes were also killer stilettos; they were dark midnight blue and lethally high. My hair was out, wavy and incredibly shiny. Alice had given me a smoky eye look.

"Right girls, ready to go knock the socks of our men with our um girls!" exclaimed Alice before erupting into giggles.

Perhaps we had a little too much wine when we were getting ready.

If it weren't for the fact that they had changed their clothes you would have thought that Edward, Jasper and Emmett hadn't moved in the few hours it had taken us to get ready. They were so engrossed in the game and their beers they hadn't heard us walk into the room.

Rose raised her eyebrow at us and whispered, "Act natural, we'll just go and sit down at the other end of the couch, sip on our wine and see how long it takes them to notice us."

We both nodded in agreement trying to suppress the giggles that were trying to escape. We followed Rose's lead and went and perched on the couch sipping our wine and chatting about tonight.

"Are you going to keep drinking wine tonight?" Rose asked us with a serious look on her face.

I stared into my glass for a moment, "I don't think I will" piped up Alice, "We're in Vegas; I'm thinking shots and cocktails?"

"Mmm I'm up for that" murmured Rose taking a sip of her drink, "You two always get crazy when we have shots" she laughed.

We were interrupted by a choking sound; we looked up to see Emmett choking on a gulp of beer.

"I think they noticed us" remarked Alice with a grin.

"It's hard not to, you look amazing. Are you part of my birthday present?" asked Jasper coming over and taking Alice by the hand.

She giggled and kissed him hard on the lips.

"Aw gross man, get a room you two. First I choke on my beer soon it'll be vomit" Emmett boomed. "By the way Rose, you look sexy!" he added jumping up and putting the moves on Rose.

"You look unbelievable" whispered a sexy voice in my ear. "So beautiful" Edward carried on.

"Thanks" I replied with a blush.

"Alright let's make a move before Edward jumps Bella right in front of us" Emmett said loudly, "Not something I need to see my little bro doing."

We headed down the main drag to a restaurant for dinner, after that we made our way to the casino for the real fun to start.

"Shots for all" announced Emmett beckoning us towards the bar, "Twelve tequilas kind sir" he told the bar tender handing him his credit card. "First rounds on me people" he said with a grin.

When the bar tender returned with the shots Alice held hers up and said "To Jasper, Happy twenty second birthday!"

"Happy birthday Jazz!" we all shouted downing our first shot.

Emmett grabbed his next shot and held it up "To an awesome night In Las Vegas, one we will never forget!"

"To Las Vegas!" we shouted downing out next shot.

"Please tell me you haven't gone all Alan from the Hangover on us and put roofies in our shots" Jasper said looking at his empty shot glass.

We all laughed, "No way little Jazz man" he replied slapping Jasper on his back, "We are going to get good and drunk the old fashioned way. Now let's go gamble!"

Edward and I joined a black jack table while the other went to try their hands at roulette. After Edward explained the rules to me I got the hang of the game pretty quickly and was shocked when my stack of chips began to grow instead of disappear.

After a while I grew bored and we wandered over to the slot machines. I put in some money and pressed the button. All of a sudden music started blaring and the big sign hanging above the row of machines began to flash.

"Someone's lucky tonight" I remarked, "Doesn't that mean someone just won the jackpot?" I asked Edward.

He was staring at me in shock, "Yes, you love" he replied.

"Come again?" I asked in disbelief, "I won the jackpot?"

"You won the jackpot babe" he replied beaming at me.

I stared at the flashing sign in total shock, "Fuck me does that say one hundred and fifty thousand?" I asked Edward.

"Ah no love think a little more than that" he replied still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

I continued to stare at him and then the sign and then back again.

"You won one and a half million babe!" he told me.

My eyes widened then I began to feel dizzy.

"Whoa love, take a deep breath" Edward told me calmly. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think I just about fainted" I gasped. Before I could say anything else an attendant reached me also wearing a huge grin.

"Congratulations miss" he told me filling out a paper slip, "You can take this cash up to the cashier at any time and claim your prize" he replied with a smile which was all teeth, blindingly white.

"Thank you" I told him taking the slip off him.

Then as he walked away I let out a squeal to rival Alice and threw myself at Edward. "Edward I won! Holy crow I won!" I shrieked.

"You did love! You won one and a half million dollars!" he exclaimed squeezing me tight. "Bella you deserve it."

I beamed at him, "I think we should go and celebrate!"

"I second that" he replied grabbing my hand and leading me through the crowd to find our friends.

"There you are!" cried Alice as we finally found the others and hurried towards them. "We've been looking all over for you two!"

"Did you hear this young chick won one and a half million dollars on one of the slot machine jackpots can you fucking believe it!" exclaimed Jasper suddenly cutting Alice off.

"We heard" Edward replied, he was still beaming from ear to ear and so was I.

"You two look pretty happy, did you get a bit of loving in one of the restrooms?" asked Emmett wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't think that's it, the last time these two looked this happy was when they finally kissed each other. They both looked they had won the jackpot or something" Rose mused.

"That's exactly why I said maybe they got it on in the toilets" Emmett told Rose exasperated.

"Hang on a sec, holy shit Bella it was you?" Alice shrieked so loudly half the casino turned to stare at us.

I nodded still grinning like an idiot.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" she squealed jumping up and down. A second later Rosalie clicked and joined in Alice's squealing.

"Wait back up a minute, what the fuck are you squealing about?" asked Emmett looking confused.

"Bella won the jackpot?" Jasper said which sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Woooooooo!" shouted Emmett picking me up and spinning me around.

After cashing in my winnings slip for a check we headed back to the hotel where Edward ran upstairs and put it away in the safe. It would be just my luck that I would lose it.

We headed to another casino with an amazing night club where I announced I would be buying the next round. We all got the craziest cocktails on the menu and went and found a table near the dance floor.

"I still can't believe you won the jackpot Bells, it's so exciting!" Alice squealed bouncing up and down again.

"I can't either" I admitted, "I almost passed out when I realised. Looks like my luck might finally be changing!" I said beaming at my friends.

"You totally deserve it babe" said Rose putting her arm around me.

Before long we had finished our cocktails and Alice announced she was buying the next round so with Emmett's help she skipped off to the bar to get more drinks.

_Two hours later_

"One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, four!" shouted Emmett as we waited for our round of tequila shots to be poured.

"Five tequila, six tequila, wait what the hell comes next?" yelled a frustrated Jasper.

"Seven you idiot" replied Emmett elbowing him.

"Oh yeah, five tequila, six tequila, seven tequila!" Jasper sang at the top of his voice.

"Floor!" they shouted together.

"At this rate the floor is exactly where they'll end up in a few hours" Edward whispered in my ear causing me to giggle.

"Oi stop whispering you two, tequila's up" Jasper told us.

_One hour later_

"If anyone asks we don't know either of them" Rose told us.

She was of course talking about Emmett and Jasper, both easily the drunkest in our group. They were at the centre of the dance floor pulling off dance moves that had us all in fits of laughter.

According to Edward they were what Emmett called his classic, signature dance moves and included such gems as the lawn mower, gone fishing and my personal favourite the sprinkler. Jasper opted for simply waving his arms in the air and swaying which was equally as entertaining. The quiet, thoughtful and often shy Jasper completely disappeared when he had a few drinks and was replaced by the loud, wilder version.

A dance song with a fast beat came on causing Emmett and Jasper to cheer loudly. Emmett started to jump around in half circle motion slowly with one arm straight in front of him and the other on his hip.

"Ah the sprinkler" Edward commented while I suppressed a giggle, "Watch the faces of the people standing next to him" he told us.

Emmett suddenly started jumping on the spot in the opposite direction at a much faster pace than before pretending to spray water on the other dancers. Before shuffling back again and beginning the sprinkler all over again.

The girls dancing next to him gave him a dirty look and stalked off to the other side of the dance floor. With that I burst out laughing.

"Did you see her face?" I choked through my laughter.

"Apparently it's not putting him off" giggled Rose pointing at a man dressed in tight white pants who was eyeing Emmett appreciatively.

"Emmett has a boyfriend!" Alice sang loudly.

Apparently the man had his limits because at that moment Jasper chose to incorporate jumping with wildly swaying his arms, the man took one look at him and ran in the opposite direction.

By this stage we were all laughing so hard we could barely breathe.

"Let's go and show them how it's done ladies!" Rose exclaimed.

"I'll just stay here, guard the drinks" Edward said gesturing at the table.

"No way, if I have to go down there and dance in these shoes you're coming with me" I told him dragging him in the direction of the dance floor.

_The next morning_

When I woke up on Sunday morning my head was pounding. I groaned covering my head with the covers to try and block out the offensive light that was hurting my eyes.

"Kill me now" I groaned.

"Good morning love" Edward said amused.

"There's nothing good about this morning" I groaned again.

"Feeling a little hung over?" he asked pulling the covers down so he could see my face.

"More than a little, aren't you?" I asked clutching my pounding head.

"Not really" he said sympathetically, "Mind you did drink a lot more than I did last night" he said giving me a small smile.

I tried to remember back to last night, but the events were very hazy. The last thing I really remembered was hitting the dance floor at the club.

"Please tell me I didn't embarrass myself?" I begged.

"Trust me love, anything you did was eclipsed by our dear friends" he told me.

That wasn't the answer I was after and somehow knowing the others were worse than I was didn't make me feel any better. I groaned, maybe I didn't want to know what happened last night.

"How about we shower and get dressed then try and get some breakfast in you?" he asked.

Half an hour later I was dressed casually in jeans and a tee and feeling slightly more human than before thanks to the hot shower. We made our way into the living room to find the other looking just as worse for wear.

Emmett looked surprisingly well for someone who had downed tequila shots like water.

"Morning Bells, so you're alive then?" he grinned.

"Barely" I replied flopping down on the sofa next to Alice who was rubbing her temples, "How can you be smiling?" I asked him.

"Easy, I don't really feel all that hung over since I'm still drunk" he replied happily. "You look pretty good Edward" he commented.

"That's because he's a freak of nature who doesn't get hang over's" I replied.

"It's so unfair" moaned Jasper, "I feel like a sack of shit and you're over there grinning and saying what a wonderful morning it is" he glared at Emmett.

Emmett's response was a booming laugh.

Rose groaned and whacked him on the arm "Shut the hell up, my head feels like it's going to explode."

"How about you little pixie how are you this fine morning?" Emmett asked, "Was that you I heard vomiting up last night's dinner when we got home?"

Alice glared at him "I don't remember" she groaned, "Please someone fill in the blanks."

"Do any of you remember anything?" asked Edward.

"Just flashes" Rose told him.

"A bit, there are some blanks though" grinned Emmett.

"Nothing at all!" groaned Jasper.

**Edward's Point of View**

_Flashback to the previous night_

"_I've justh had the besth idea" Alice slurred. "We should get married!" she shrieked putting her arms around Rose and Bella as we stumbled down the road to the next club._

"_Who?" asked Bella confused._

"_Usth sssilly, you me and Rosie!" Alice replied swaying a little, "Look there'ths the chapel over there!" she pointed towards the Chapel of Love. No doubt it was one of those chapels you see in all the Hollywood movies complete with tacky decorations and an Elvis impersonator as the minister._

"_Don't you want to marry me Alice?" pouted Jasper._

"_Not in Vegath" she slurred, "Plusth I want a diamond right here and a big white wedding" she replied wiggling her finger at him._

"_Bridezilla" Emmett whispered to me._

"_Do they allow same sexth marriage here?" Bella slurred in response._

"_They should" stated Rose bluntly, "Come on."_

"Oh no" Bella groaned, "You didn't let us did you?"

"Wait, you called me a bridezilla!" Alice shrieked turning on Emmett.

I grinned and carried on.

_We entered the chapel and immediately I knew I was right about the tacky part. Tacky didn't even begin to describe the room we had just walked into. Pink, glitter..._

"_Oh its stho pretty!" squealed Alice, she must be drunker than I thought._

"_What the fuck?" Jasper suddenly exclaimed, "I thought Elvis was dead?" he asked staring at the impersonator in amazement._

"_It's not really him Jasper" Rose sighed._

"_How do you know?" he asked, "It looks just like him!"_

_While Rose and Jasper argued over whether or not Elvis was still alive, Alice and Emmett were looking at the souvenirs. To be honest Alice was looking but Emmett was touching everything, it was like taking a five year old to a candy store and letting him loose._

"_Look at this hat!" he practically shouted at me from across the room._

_I turned around to see my older brother wearing a pink, sparkly cow girl hat. It was one of those moments where I couldn't believe I was related to him. Alice was giggling uncontrollably which set Bella off who almost fell over she was laughing so hard. _

"_I'm so buying this hat" he told himself looking in the mirror. "Oi Jazzy, look you should get this."_

_He was holding up a tiara with Birthday Girl written on the front._

"I was wondering where this came from" Jasper said pointing at the tiara sitting on the coffee table.

"Please tell me he didn't wear that in public?" Alice asked me.

_After buying Emmett his hat and Jasper his tiara we walked through the gift shop to the registry desk._

"_We want to get married" Alice announced to the second Elvis impersonator._

"_The cow girl and the princess?" he asked._

"_No!" she replied looking at him like he was stupid, "Us" she told him gesturing to the girls._

"_Ah I see, we have a two hour wait at the moment but if you'd like to take a seat I'll call you when it's your turn."_

_Alice stumbled over to the seats closely followed by Rosalie and Bella. My mind was turning over the ways I could convince them that getting married might not seem like such a great idea in the morning. Luckily for me after five minutes Bella announced she had changed her mind and Emmett was complaining he was bored._

"So we didn't get married then?" asked Rose.

"No, you were saved by Emmett's short attention span" I chucked.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more?" Alice groaned.

I laughed at her.

_We stumbled off down the road to the club we were planning on going to in the first place. The bouncer didn't even bat an eye when he saw Princess Jasper and Cow Girl Emmett. I figured he probably saw that kind of thing a lot._

_Emmett and Alice went and got drinks and returned with two beers and four cocktails. _

"_What's wrong with you?" Jasper asked Emmett who had the most horrified expression on his face._

"_Someone pinched my ass and it wasn't a girl" he told us horrified._

"_HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Jasper was doubled over laughing._

"_So that hats a chick magnet then?" Rose asked amused._

"_Is it attracting you?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. He dished out the drinks, "here princess I got you a pink drink" he told Jasper who took it gladly and thanked him in what I presume was supposed to be a girls voice._

"HA that's right, Princess Jasper like's girls drinks" Emmett laughed.

"They taste nice" Jasper retorted.

"What happened next?" asked Rose.

"_Let's go and dance" Alice demanded dragging Bella and Rose to the dance floor. We followed and soon Emmett was unleashing his signature moves on the other poor clubbers._

_I wrapped my arms around a very unsteady Bella who had been dancing with Rose._

"_Edward" she sighed._

"_Yes love?" I asked her._

"_I'm really drunk" she answered._

"_Not as drunk as Emmett" I reminded her._

_She giggled as we watched Emmett climb up onto a platform in the middle of the dance floor with Jasper dancing wildly in front of everyone._

"_I am so getting a video of this!" exclaimed Rose pulling out her phone and pressing record._

"_I didn't know Jasthper liked Britney" Alice slurred leaning on me for support._

_Jasper and Emmett were singing at the top of their lungs to some Britney Spears song, combined with their head wear they looked ridiculous._

"I totally forgot about that!" Rose said grabbing her phone to look for the video. "Ha here it is."

We all laughed as we watched Jasper and Emmett dance and sing on screen.

"I am never ever drinking again" moaned Jasper.

"What happened after that?" Bella asked.

"Jasper fell of the stage" I told them.

Emmett's booming laugh filled the room. "I'm not shitting you man it was the funniest thing I have ever seen".

"That explains the bruises I'm sporting then, I was a little worried about where they'd come from" said Jasper looking relieved.

"Were you worried you'd pissed Alice off so much last night she beat you?" Emmett sniggered causing as all to laugh.

"Alice can be pretty scary" he mumbled.

"And don't you forget it" she told him. "Did anything else happen?" she asked.

"Nope, after that we all stumbled back here where you proceeded to vomit in the toilet and Bella passed within five minutes" I told her.

"Never drinking ever again" moaned Bella.

**Bella's Point of View**

The flight home was absolute hell, let me just say hangovers and planes are not a great combination. Aside from that the weekend was the most fun I had had in a long time; Jasper declared it was the best birthday weekend in history, not to mention I was a little richer because of it! It looked as though things were looking up.

On Monday morning I drove Alice and Rose to UW as we had planned to hit the grocery store and the mall after our classes. After promising to see them at lunch I trudged off to class bumping into Angela Webber on the way.

"Hey Bella!" Angela called walking towards me, I really liked Angela. She had been nice to me since day one when I started at Forks High.

"Hi Ange, how are you?" I asked when she reached me.

"Good, how are you?" she asked, I could hear the concern in her voice.

"I'm good, it's been a rough couple of weeks but I'm getting there" I told her honestly.

"I'm glad" she replied, "I was really worried about you" she said with a sincere smile. "So how was your weekend?" she asked, changing the subject for which I was grateful.

"It was great actually, we all went to Las Vegas for Jasper's birthday" I told her.

"Wow! That must have been amazing!" she exclaimed.

"It was, we had a great time, except for the hangovers" I said, she laughed in response.

I filled her in on the trip to Vegas and she told me about her weekend as we walked to class together. Class itself was uncomplicated, the subject matter was easy. Since Angela was majoring in English too we walked to our next few classes together too before finally heading off to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Hey Bella, hey Angela" I heard a male voice yell from behind us, we turned around to see Mike Newton jogging our way.

"You know he still has a crush on you, some things never change huh?" she teased while Mike was still out of earshot.

I grimaced causing her to laugh, "I mean he's nice an all" I replied.

"But he's not your type" she finished with a grin, "besides he's definitely no Edward Cullen."

"No he's not" I replied thinking of Edward's amazing green eyes, sexy bed head hair... I quickly snapped myself out of my day dreams before they got out of hand, "He's got nothing on Edward."

"Hi!" Mike greeted us puffing just slightly.

"Hi Mike" we replied in unison.

"Ange Ben's just over there, he's looking for you" Mike told Angela.

"Oh" she replied turning around to try and spot Ben. She glanced back at me.

"Go on" I grinned at her.

"I'll catch you in English 305 this afternoon Bells" she told me, _Sorry! _She mouthed behind Mike's back. I smiled at her to let her know I could handle Mike on my own.

"So Mike how's things?" I asked as we started walking again towards the cafeteria.

"So you and Edward Cullen huh?" he asked ignoring my question. Ah so it's going to be one of those conversations I thought.

"What about us?" I asked him trying to keep my tone even.

"Are you two you know together?" he questioned.

"Yes" I replied simply.

"I don't like it" he told me bluntly.

"To be honest Mike you don't have to like it" I answered tersely, "Listen I've gotta go, I'll see you around" I said before walking off as quickly as I could. Angela was right some things never change, I felt like I was right back in high school.

When I reached the cafeteria I found our group easily, sitting at the same table as we always did.

"I got you lunch love" Edward told me giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks" I told him dumping my book bag under my chair.

"You look pissed off" Rose commented, taking a bite of her chicken wrap.

"I just bumped in Mike Newton" I huffed.

"Ah" they all looked at me sympathetically. Despite the fact that my statement really didn't need any explanation I decided to elaborate anyway.

"He asked me if I was dating Edward, I said yes and get this, he said 'I don't like it'" I told the group.

"He is a piece of work" Rose answered. "What did you say?"

"I said he didn't have to like it and ran away" I said.

Everyone snickered, "What is it to him anyway?" Edward asked me.

"He has had a crush on our wee Bella her since arrived in Forks" Alice said with a smirk.

"One that has never and will never be reciprocated" I told Edward.

_Later that afternoon_

After Mike's little admission and my subsequent running away from him, he seemed to be popping up everywhere all over campus that day. First it was later that afternoon when I was walking to class with Angela and then it was at the grocery store after class.

"Aw he's just like a little golden retriever" Rose sniggered as we spotted him down the canned foods aisle, "Following you everywhere."

"Shut up!" I growled causing her to laugh.

"This is typical Mike Newton behaviour, remember when Conner asked you out on a date in senior year and Mike felt it was his duty to let you know you had other options" Alice commented.

"Argh don't remind me" I replied shuddering slightly as I tried to suppress the memory of Mike Newton trying to kiss me in the storeroom of Newton's Olympic Outfitters.

"I totally forgot about that!" Rose giggled.

"Oh great now he's coming over" I said through gritted teeth trying unsuccessfully to hide behind my hair.

"Hi Bella, funny seeing you here!" he greeted me eagerly, "Hi Rosalie, Hi Alice" he said. His eyes lit up when he saw them, I think secretly he'd always had kind of a thing for them too, but Rose had shot him down so harshly the first time he had never bothered again.

"Hi Mike" Alice replied, while Rose just gave him a little wave.

"So ladies what brings you here?" he asked leaning casually against his grocery cart.

"Quite probably the same thing that bought you here" Rose remarked with a hint of sarcasm, "Grocery shopping."

"Cool" he replied grinning, "So I was thinking of having a small party at my place this weekend, you know just people that went to Forks High. It'd be great if you ladies could be there" he told us with a wink.

"Like a reunion then?" asked Alice picking up a can of tomatoes off the shelf and putting it into the cart.

"Yeah exactly" he replied still grinning.

"Oh okay yeah sure that could be fun" Alice replied shrugging her shoulders, "The six of us will try to be there."

"The six of you?" Mike asked looking a little confused.

"Well yeah, us girls, Jasper, Edward and Emmett" Rose replied in an isn't that obvious tone.

"Oh yeah right, sure" he replied waving his hand. "Eight onwards see you there" he called pushing his cart away.

"I think you just shattered his dream of getting the three of us alone with him" Rose remarked when Mike was out of earshot.

"Ew Rose that's so gross!" Alice exclaimed.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's note: Hope you enjoy this chapter =) Review, review review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, it owns me**

**Chapter Songs: All I Believe In – The Magic Numbers & Amadou & Mariam, Swing – Savage and Something Bout Love – David Archuleta**

_Ring ring! Ring ring! Ring ring!_

It was Wednesday afternoon and I was trying to write an essay for my English class that was due on Friday, I had just got on a roll where all the words I wanted to write were flowing freely when I was interrupted by the phone.

I snatched it up answering it quickly to stop the obnoxious ringing noise that was grating on my nerves.

"Hello?" I asked pressing the talk button.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" Renee's voice shrieked at me.

Crap, full name, she only ever called me Isabella when I was in serious trouble. What the hell had I done? I thought quickly racking my brain.

"Hi Mom, how are you?" I asked being polite.

"Isabella I can't believe you didn't tell me. I had to hear it second hand from Charlie and he..." she ranted barely taking a breath.

"Hold up Mom, what are you talking about?" I asked her. What on earth would she have heard second hand from Charlie, he wasn't one to gossip.

"Charlie told me all about that horrible man, that murderer that was chasing my poor baby girl" she half sobbed into the phone. "I cannot believe you didn't tell me Isabella! We even spoke after it happened and you didn't say a word."

"I'm sorry Mom, I didn't talk about it to anyone" I promised her, "it's hard" I paused trying to collect myself. "It's hard to talk about what happened, I can't talk about it because then the memories come rushing back to me."

"Oh my poor baby" she sobbed into the phone.

"It's okay Mom, I'll be okay. I just need time to forget about it" I reassured her trying to stay calm.

"Maybe it was a bad idea for you to move to Forks, I should have insisted you come to Florida, this is all my fault"

"No Mom! It's not your fault at all, don't pin this on yourself" I exclaimed, "You know me Mom I'm a magnet for danger."

She let out a little giggle, "Oh honey, you know how I worry about you. I miss you so much and I can't bear the thought of something happening to you."

"I know Mom and I miss you too" I replied getting a little teary.

"Maybe you and Edward could come and visit us for a weekend soon?" she asked.

"That would be nice Mom, we will."

"Soon" she told me again, more firmly this time.

"Very soon" I promised, "I love you Mom and I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

"That's okay honey, I love you."

I hung up and immediately I felt guilty. I should have told Renee about James, but I couldn't bring myself to. I knew how she worried and didn't want to put that kind of stress on her. I made a promise to myself to let her know in the future, if anything else should happen that I would tell her straight away. Although I hoped I would never have to go through anything like this again.

Taking a minute to compose myself I shoved all thoughts of James out of my head and got back to my essay.

Two hours later I was wrapping up the last few paragraphs when Rose arrived home.

"Hey Bells" she greeted me as she walked into the dining room where I had been working on my laptop.

"Hey Rose, how were your classes today?" I asked her hitting the save key on my keyboard.

"Pretty good, did you get your essay done?" she asked peering over my shoulder.

"Just finished" I told her with a relieved smile, "I was just going to make a start on dinner."

"Cool, I'll help" she told me following me to the kitchen, "What's on the menu?"

"I don't know maybe stir-fry?" I asked shrugging my shoulders.

"Sounds good to me" she replied grabbing the ingredients out of the fridge.

"Renee called me today" I blurted out, "Charlie told her about" I couldn't say his name out loud, "what happened."

Rose looked at me sympathetically, "How much did he tell her?" she asked.

"Everything, which is surprising because Charlie isn't much of a gossiper, I think he thought that she already knew. She was really upset."

"That's understandable, she's your Mom" Rose said putting an arm around me.

"Yeah, she was kinda angry that I didn't tell her too. She understood once I explained but still"

"And now you're feeling guilty?" Rose asked, she knew me so well.

"A little" I admitted, "She was blaming herself, saying it was her fault and that she should have taken me to Florida with her."

"She's feeling guilty too babe, if it was my Mom she'd completely lose the plot and she can be pretty damn scary" Rose replied. "Don't feel guilty, you had your reasons for not saying anything and I'm sure Renee understands that. You know I'm here if you ever need to talk about it though and so is Alice."

"Thanks Rosie, maybe one day I will be but not yet and you're right by the way."

"Always" she said with a grin.

I felt a lot better after talking to Rose, she knew me so well she knew exactly how I was feeling and what to say. She was also great at changing the topic at just the right moment. She poured us both a glass of wine and we chatted about easy, everyday stuff as we cooked dinner.

"Hey, something smells amazing!" Alice exclaimed once she had arrived home and walked into the kitchen. I poured her a wine and she settled on one of the bar stools so I could fill her in on my call with Renee.

"Rose is right Bella, you don't need to feel guilty she will totally understand" Alice reassured me.

"Thanks Allie" I replied.

"What are you girls up to tonight?" asked Rose setting the plates on the table.

"Not much, Edward has some plans to finish drawing up so I guess I'll be hanging around here" I told her.

"Same, Jasper is doing a paper" Alice answered.

"There's a really good movie on at the moment, a tear jerker" Rose commented, "Interested?"

"Hell yes! Girly movie night it is" Alice replied enthusiastically.

"Definitely" I told her with a smile.

After dinner we grabbed our coats and headed downtown in my car to the cinema. We paid for our tickets and got the necessary junk food and headed into the cinema to find our seats.

By the end of the movie we had all been bawling our eyes out since the first ten minutes of the movie. When Rose said it was a tear jerker she meant it. Still I had to admit it did feel good to just be able to cry for a while in a dark movie theatre where everyone thought I was crying over the movie. In reality I wasn't, I was crying over the memories that flooded back to me about how close my friends and I had been to death.

"That was so sad" Alice sniffled as we headed down the road towards my car.

"Kind of depressing" added Rose.

"Let's go home and watch a musical, maybe Mamma Mia!" Alice asked.

"Sure!" replied Rose linking her arms through mine and Alice's.

_Later that week – Saturday Night_

"Ugh, I can't believe we're going to Newton's party tonight" moaned Jasper as we got out of the cab and walked up the street to Mike's apartment.

"Neither can I" Rose chimed in, "The slimy bastard was all suggestive when he invited us."

"The booze might not be free but the food is, I don't see any problem" commented Emmett.

"Of course you wouldn't, you always think with your stomach" replied Jasper poking Emmett in the gut.

"Don't touch things you can't afford Jasper" Emmett told him wagging his finger.

"HA I could so afford you, all it'd take would be a McDonald's combo and you'd be anyone's" Jasper retorted.

We all cracked up laughing "I'm not that cheap, if you included and apple pie and maybe a sundae..." Emmett trailed off no doubt fantasising about food.

Edward rolled his eyes and pulled me closer to him, "I'm still not convinced we're related, my theory is that he was switched at the hospital when he was born, I swear my real brother is out there somewhere" he told me.

"I heard that Eddie" Emmett called over his shoulder, "You know you love me really deep down."

"Really deep down" Edward whispered making me laugh.

We walked up the path to the front door of Mike's apartment building and waited to be buzzed in. It didn't take long and then we headed up the stairs to the third floor.

"Ugh I just realised that little bitch Lauren will no doubt be here" Alice grimaced.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Rose, "I've been looking forward to socialising with her again after I put her in her place last time."

A lot of things had changed since that run in with Lauren, Edward and I were officially a couple now so she couldn't spin any lies about being with him anymore. I figured she'd hate me even more now.

Edward snuck a quick glance at me, "We can leave whenever you want love, if she bothers you I'll..."

"It'll be fine" I reassured him, "Besides it looks like I've got a couple of bodyguards" I joked pointing in Rose and Alice's direction.

Edward chuckled, "I wouldn't want to come up against either of them in a fight."

"Neither" I replied with a giggle.

"Hey hey hey!" exclaimed an already drunk Mike opening his front door and interrupting my banter with Edward. "Come on in, the party's fist pumping excellent!" he told us beckoning us in.

"What the fuck?" asked Jasper annoyed, "Listen to him talking like that, who does he think he is?"

"He's an idiot, but he means well" Alice replied patting Jasper on the back making him laugh.

Emmett pulled three beers and three wine coolers out of the bag he had been carrying and passed one to each of us.

"We may as well just sit back and enjoy the show now" Jasper said, "Except that there aren't any seats" he looked around with a disgusted look on his face. "It'll be more like lean against a spare bit of wall."

We all laughed at that comment. "Yay Lauren's here with her sidekick Jessica" Rosalie noted. I looked over to where she was looking. "Oh look and she's bought the bitch" she added with a bit of a snarl spotting Tanya standing giggling with them.

"This is gonna be interesting" Alice murmured taking a sip of her drink.

"Did anyone know she was coming?" Edward demanded. Everyone shook their heads, "I'm sorry love this must be awkward for you" he said stroking my hair.

"No it's not, it doesn't bother me" I told him.

"That's good Bells because Lauren's coming over here" Alice interrupted.

"Quick restrain Rose she might attack her" Jasper joked.

"Thanks for the idea Jazz" Rose giggled.

"Hi Edward, Emmett, Jasper" Lauren simpered.

"Hi Lauren" Rose replied loudly.

Lauren gave Rose a disgusted look and carried on "Obviously you already know Jessica and Tanya" she said gesturing at her sidekicks.

"Yeah, we've met once or twice" replied Alice sarcastically.

Lauren snorted and flicked her hair, "So Edward I was hoping maybe you'd like to come and hang out with us" she told him putting her hand on his arm.

"No thank you" he replied in a clipped tone.

"Awwww come on Eddie" she purred.

"Would you kindly remove your hand from my boyfriend's arm before I forcibly remove it myself?" I asked her in a sweet voice.

She glared at me, "I wasn't talking to you Bella" she sneered.

"Well I'm talking to you and I'm telling you to stop touching Edward" I replied getting just a little pissed off.

"You don't own him" she spat.

"Look you bitch" Rose growled walking to my side. "Bella told you to fuck off in so many words so why don't you?"

"Back off Hale" she sneered.

"I don't think I will" came Rose's reply, "Don't think I won't kick your ass cause you know I will."

"Lauren come on" Jessica piped up, "You're kinda embarrassing yourself."

"Excuse me?" Lauren shrieked turning on Jessica.

"Here we go" whispered Emmett, "The show down we have all been waiting for." He smirked taking a sip of his drink. "Five bucks on Jessica winning this round" he whispered to me.

"You heard me Lauren, back off" replied Jessica finally standing up to Lauren.

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that?" Lauren continued to screech.

"I've had enough of your bitchy behaviour Lauren, we aren't in high school anymore it's time you grew up" Jessica said hands on her hips. "Edward doesn't want you, neither does Emmett or Jasper."

How dare you!" she screeched launching herself at Jessica, who side stepped just in time. Lauren fell face first onto the carpet.

"Fuck you Jessica Stanley" she shrieked as she got up from the floor. She then stalked out of the apartment followed closely by Tanya.

"Are you okay Jess?" I asked her.

"I'm fine, it felt damn good to finally stand up to that evil witch" she replied with a grin.

"Good for you Jess" I told her handing her a wine cooler. I was glad to have the old Jess back, she and I had always gotten along well in school before Lauren took her further under her wing.

Angela chose that moment to come over with Katie, Eric Yorkie's girlfriend. "I would ask what that was all about but we heard everything" she said.

"Yeah good for you, standing up to Lauren like that, it's about time she realised what a cow she is" Katie piped up.

"Hear hear!" replied Emmett raising his beer bottle into the air.

"Ding dong the witch is dead" Jasper chimed in.

After Lauren left the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed, it was nice to spend a bit of time hanging out with the old high school crowd. Jacob would normally tag along to these kinds of gatherings back when we were still in high school so it made me miss him a little.

I still hadn't heard from him, not a peep. But I had spoken to Leah just a few days earlier; she said Jake was still sulking but not to worry because he'd pull his head out of his ass soon.

She also told me that she had decided to move to Seattle too, a friend of Emily's had just had a roommate move out and Leah had been offered the room. I was beyond excited to have my sister moving to the same city as me. Paul, Embry and Quil were also moving in two weeks so our little family was about to expand.

"Are you alright love?" Edward asked putting his arms around me, "You've been a little quiet."

"Yeah" I reassured him, "Just thinking about Leah and the big move she's making. I promised I'd go and help her move everything up her next weekend."

"I'll help if you'd like?" he asked, "my parents have been begging me to bring you round again so maybe we could call on them on our way through to La Push?"

"I'd like that" I told him leaning back into his embrace.

"But keep Monday free, you're all mine on Valentine's Day" he replied with a grin.

I couldn't help but think he had another surprise up his sleeve.

_Later that week_

The week had dragged on and on and finally it was Friday. Edward and I were headed to Port Angeles tonight to spend the night at his parent's and then help Leah with the big move tomorrow.

"What are you guys up to this weekend?" I asked while we were sitting eating lunch in the UW cafeteria.

"Emmett and I are going to stay at the guys place all weekend" Rose replied.

"And Jazz and I will be at our place, we'll have the whole house to ourselves" Alice answered with a wink.

"Aw Allie ew" I replied, "Try to limit it to places we don't all use would you."

"Well we'll try but I can't promise anything" she said grinning ear to ear.

"What can't you promise?" Jasper asked pulling up a chair at the table followed by Edward.

"That we'll behave ourselves having the whole house to ourselves" she replied, "I've been wanting to see what the couch would be like" she teased.

"Please don't, I like that couch and I'd rather not have to burn it" Rose told her.

"Sometimes you can't control a moment of passion Rose, you'd know all about that" Alice replied.

I laughed almost choking on my food, "Was that when you walked in on Em and Rose in the kitchen?"

"Yes, it made me want to burn my eyes" replied Jasper shuddering.

Laughing Alice patted him on the back "Poor Jazzy, still traumatised."

"I was too after I walked in on them in the family room at home" Edward piped up, "I couldn't look at either of them for weeks."

Rose just laughed, she was never one to get embarrassed or be fazed by something like that.

After lunch I had one more class until I was finished for the day as did Edward. We arranged to meet by his Volvo in the car park. Class dragged, probably because I was dying for it to hurry up and end. As soon as Mr Gerandy said we were finished for the day I leapt out of my seat having already packed my bag and hurried out the door.

Edward was waiting for me outside of class, leaning up against the wall opposite. He was wearing black cargo pants and a navy blue zip up looking sexier than the law should allow. I noticed a group of juniors standing nearby, staring at him and probably trying to garner enough courage to go and speak to him. His face broke out in a huge grin when he saw me and he strode towards me.

I still had moments when I couldn't believe he was actually mine. This was one of those moments, my breath hitched when I reached him and he pulled me into him for a kiss.

"Hello love how was class?"

"Good, but slow" I replied burying myself into his chest.

"Same, I was thinking about you the whole time" he told me giving me another kiss before grabbing my bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

The girls that had been eyeing Edward up looked awed and envious as they watched me us walk away. That's right ladies he's all mine I thought. When we reached the Volvo Edward threw our bags on the back seat before opening the passenger door for me. We sped out of the parking lot, headed for home where we quickly got changed and freshened up. An hour later we were back in the car and on the road to Port Angeles; we would easily make it there by dinnertime at the rate Edward was going.

"My parents are really excited to see you again" Edward told me glancing at me before returning his gaze to the road. "Esme in particular, she thinks you're adorable and I'm inclined to agree" he continued grinning at me making me blush.

"Carlisle really likes you too, they are more excited to see you than they are me" he added with a fake pout.

"If it makes you feel any better Renee won't stop gushing about you to everyone she knows" I told him.

"Really?" he asked looking a little pleased with himself.

"Really, she's pretty much smitten with you" I replied.

He reached across the console and took my hand in his, "I'm smitten with you" he told me eyes smouldering.

Within two and a bit hours we were driving through the town towards Edward's childhood home. Pulling up the driveway I marvelled once again at the amazing house. Edward parked his car in front of the massive garage before helping me out of the car and grabbing our overnight bags.

Esme was waiting at the door for us, evidently she had heard Edward's car pull up.

"Bella dear it's so wonderful to see you again!" she exclaimed pulling me into a hug.

"You too Esme, thank you for having us over tonight"

"Oh it's no problem at all, Carlisle and I were so looking forward to seeing you again" she told me putting her arm around me and leading me into the house.

"Hi Edward it's good to see you, oh you too Mom" Edward muttered loud enough for us to hear him.

"Oh hello dear" she giggled letting me go and giving her son a hug and a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry for ignoring you."

"Its fine Mom" he chuckled, "I can see why you'd be more excited to see her than me. For a start she's much better looking than me."

"Awww" she squealed. "Your father's in the kitchen, it's his turn to cook tonight, why don't you go and help him dear?" she suggested, "I'll pour Bella and myself a wine and we'll have a girly catch up in the living room" she said giving me a warm smile.

"Sure Mom" Edward replied giving my hand a squeeze.

We headed in to the kitchen where Carlisle was stirring something that smelt amazing. "Son, Bella!" he greeted us with a smile. He put down the spoon and strode over to give me a hug, "It's good to see you again Bella, Esme and I are so glad you could come" he told me.

"Thank you, it's really nice to see you again" I told him smiling back.

"Edward's going to help you with dinner and Bella and I are going to go and have a wine" Esme told him pouring us both a glass.

She handed me my glass and lead the way back into the huge sitting room, the fire was roaring giving it a relaxed atmosphere. We sat down on the comfy white sofa.

"How have you been dear?" Esme asked me taking a sip of her wine, "Edward told me about what happened. We were so worried about you!" she told me, I could see the concern in her green eyes; they were a slightly darker shade than Edward's.

"I'm better now, Edward has been wonderful through all of it" I told her, "I feel so lucky to have him. I'm not sure I would have been able to cope without him."

Her eyes sparkled at that comment "Well we are just so glad you were okay dear" she told me patting my knee. "Edward feels lucky to have you too you know. I remember him calling us a few days after he had met you. I could tell he loved you already by the way he spoke about you" she told me smiling.

"We're so glad Edward found that someone special, I was so worried after what had happened to him. But then he met you and the change was startling. He was quite quiet for a long time and then all of a sudden our Edward was back, joking and happy" she explained.

I smiled at her, "He helped me too, in the same way. When I moved here I had been through something very similar to Edward and he helped me see that not every man is untrustworthy" I told Esme, it was so easy to open up to her.

"I'm glad he found you Bella, you fit into our family so well, it seems like you were meant to move to Seattle."

"I think so" I told her, "I'm glad I moved too. It's turned out to be the best decision I ever made."

She beamed at me, "So tell me, what else has been happening lately? Edward told me he took you to Vancouver as a surprise? I never thought my son could be so romantic, he must have learnt more from Carlisle than I realised."

I grinned back at her, "It was very romantic, I had absolutely no idea where he was taking me. I've always wanted to go there, it was so much fun. It's a beautiful city."

"Oh it is I love it there. Carlisle and I often go there in winter for a bit of a break" she told me

"You do?" I asked.

"Yes, we've been going for years. He proposed to me there" she told me a dreamy look on her face. She told me the story of how he had proposed, it was so romantic. A warm summer's night in Vancouver, on a boat moored out in the harbour, Carlisle had arranged a three course meal by candle light while they looked out at the twinkling lights of the city. After dinner he got down on one knee and declared his love for her and asked her to be his wife.

I sighed "That is so romantic" I told her.

"He did pretty well didn't he?" she said beaming and taking another sip of her wine.

Just then we were interrupted by Edward calling us for dinner. Carlisle had cooked lemon chicken with white rice and steamed vegetables. He poured us all another glass of wine before announcing we tuck in.

"So Bella, how are your courses at UW going?" Carlisle asked me.

"Really good actually, it's hard to believe third year is half way through now. One more to go before we're all out in the real world" I told them.

"Time does fly by so fast" Esme replied, "I think it must feel like that for all mothers though" she said ruffling Edward's hair affectionately. "Speaking of mothers how's Renee Bella?"

Esme and Renee met at Christmas and got along like a house on fire. They spent all evening chatting away with Sue and Alice and Rose's Moms.

"She's really good; I spoke to her the other day. She and Phil are dying for us to go to Florida and visit them" I replied.

"I bet she is! I must call her actually" Esme told me.

"She'd like that" I said smiling.

The rest of the evening was happy and relaxed; I really liked Esme and Carlisle. They were both such caring and genuinely kind people. We bid them goodnight around eleven since we had to get up fairly early to head to Leah's.

"Good night dear" Esme said giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I didn't get the guest bedroom ready as I figured you and Edward would rather spend the night in his room."

"Thanks" I told her blushing a little.

She just grinned at me and Edward led me upstairs to his room.

I used the bathroom first, quickly washing my face and teeth before changing into my Victoria's Secret silk pyjamas, courtesy of Alice Brandon. Apparently yoga pants and a tee aren't fashionable enough sleepwear in her books.

I went and settled in bed and flicked through a book I found sitting on his nightstand while I waited for him. He walked out of the bathroom five minutes later wearing only a midnight blue pair of pyjama bottoms.

He smirked when he saw me shamelessly ogling him. "Like what you see love?" he asked climbing into bed beside me.

"Yes" I replied blushing.

"I like what I see too" he replied leaning in to kiss me.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's note: Hope you like the new character introduced in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight Ms Meyer does**

**Chapter Songs: Starlight – Muse**

We woke early the next morning and after a quick but hot shower I got dressed in skinny jeans, a white tank top and a purple, blue and white plaid shirt with a pair of grey converse.

I met Edward downstairs in the kitchen where Esme was already cooking us breakfast.

"Good morning dear! That purple shirt looks really pretty on you" she told me with a huge smile.

"Oh thank you" I replied smiling back.

"I hope you're hungry, Mom's cooked heaps. Did you forget Emmett's not here?" Edward asked her teasingly.

She laughed, "It must be habit" she replied cracking eggs into a large frying pan.

"Good morning!" Carlisle greeted us walking into the kitchen and planting a kiss on Esme's cheek. "Coffee anyone?" he asked turning on the machine.

"Please" I replied, "I can't function in the morning without it"

He chuckled "Neither can I."

"So you're helping your sister Leah move today?" Esme asked putting bread in the toaster.

"Mmm we are, her cousin Emily has a friend living in Seattle who has a spare room in a really nice apartment. So she offered it to Leah, she managed to get a job working in a childcare centre downtown too" I replied.

"Oh that's wonderful, it'll be so nice for you to have her living nearby" Esme replied.

"It will, I'm really looking forward to it" I told her.

Esme dished up breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, toast, mushrooms and tomatoes and placed our plates on the table. After eating we decided to head to La Push, we had promised Leah we would be there by eight so we had to get going.

"Please come and bring Bella back soon to visit us" Esme made Edward promise.

"I will Mom, we'll come for the weekend soon or something" he said.

"You better, see you soon Bella. It was lovely seeing you again" Esme said giving me a hug.

"It was nice seeing you too" I told her, "Thank you for having us, I can't wait to come back."

"I'm glad" she replied beaming at me.

"Take care Bella, it was great to see you" Carlisle told me also giving me a hug.

"I will, and it was good seeing you too" I told him.

"You look after her Edward" Esme called as we got into his Volvo.

"I will Mom!" he called back before speeding off down the drive.

We made it to La Push before eight; we drove down the road to where Leah was currently living with Kim. We passed the Black's place and I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. Should I go and visit Jacob while I was here and just pretend like nothing had happened? I asked myself. I didn't think I could do that, it would be just so awkward, but then on the other hand I missed my friend and would do anything to get things back to the way they were.

Edward must have sensed I was thinking about it because he reached over and squeezed my hand. "If you want to go and visit him you should" he told me.

"I don't know" I replied, "It'd be too awkward and besides he hasn't made any effort to get in contact with me so maybe I'll just leave it up to him." I knew I was being slightly childish but the topic of Jacob was still a sore one.

"Whatever you decide I'll support" he reminded me, "I'll even come with you if you'd like, although I don't think Jacob would appreciate that much" he mused more tom himself then me.

"Maybe, I mean if you'd come with me then it might not be so bad" I replied. "I'll think about it, maybe I'll talk to Leah about it."

"That's a good idea love" he replied squeezing my hand. I wondered how I got so lucky, I wasn't sure if the situation was reversed I'd be able to be as calm and mature as Edward was being.

"What house number am I looking for?" Edward asked me breaking me free of my thoughts.

"Oh, it's that little blue wooden place just there" I replied pointing at Leah's. Edward turned around and parked right outside Leah and Kim's house. As usual he managed to get out of the car and around to my passenger door to open it for me so fast I swear he could move at a supernatural speed.

"How do you move so fast?" I asked him stepping out of the car, "You're not a vampire are you?"

That made him laugh, "Nope, otherwise I would have bitten you by now, you taste delicious" he whispered in my ear sending warm tingles throughout my body.

We walked up the path to Leah's front door hand in hand and just as I raised my hand to knock Kim flung the door open.

"Hi Bells, how are you?" she squealed, not quite an Alice worthy squeal but it was up there. "Hi Edward, it's so nice of you to come and help."

"Hey Kim, we're good, how about you? Excited I bet?" I asked her with a grin. Kim and Jared had decided to take the next step in their relationship and move in together and I could tell excited didn't even cover it.

"Very!" she answered, "Come on in, Leah's just in her room packing some stuff into boxes" she told us leading us down the hall. I loved Leah and Kim's little place, it was homey and cosy and now it was going to be Kim and Jared's place.

"So when does Jared move in?" I asked her.

"Today as well, that's why the place is such a damn mess!" she told us, "The guys have been helping him move all his stuff in over the past few days."

"Bells!" Leah exclaimed jumping up from her spot on the floor surrounded by boxes, "Thank you so much for helping me today" she said hugging me.

"Anything for my sis" I replied hugging her back.

"Hi Edward, thanks for coming" she said as she pulled away from me walking over to give him a hug too.

"No problem Leah, we're happy to help" Edward told her. "Put me to work" he added with a grin.

"Okay, so ummm" she said looking around her room, "As you can probably tell I left a few things to the last minute. I got a little overwhelmed" she told us sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it Lee-lee" I replied, "How bout we move all of the boxes that are ready to go into the car into the hall?" I suggested.

"Great idea, see this is why I wanted you to help Bells!" she told me grinning.

"I'll load them into your car if you'd like?" Edward offered.

"Sure that'd be great" Leah replied tossing him the keys.

Edward loaded up his arms with a couple of boxes and headed out to Leah's car. Leah and I grabbed a box each and started to pack clothes into them.

"So Bells all is well with your hunky Greek Adonis then?" Leah asked.

"More than well, things are going great" I told her unable to stop the huge grin that took over my face. "He's amazing."

"I'd bet he is" she replied winking and elbowing me lightly.

I giggled; Edward chose that moment to step into the room grabbing a few more boxes. "What are you two giggling about in here?" he asked an amused expression on his face.

"Just girl talk" Leah replied, "Things boys would never want to hear about."

"Say no more" Edward replied rushing out of the room.

That caused us to giggle again.

"There's something you want to talk to me about isn't there?" Leah asked suddenly after a few moments with no talking.

"Gee are you turning all psychic on me like Alice?" I asked her teasingly.

"I just know how to read you well" Leah replied with a grin, "So out with it missy."

I took a deep breath, "It's about Jacob."

She nodded encouraging me to continue, "I think he still hates me, I still haven't heard from him like I told you the other night. Anyway I was wondering, do I go and visit him while I'm here?" I asked her.

"Hmm, well do you want to?" she questioned.

"I really don't know, on one hand I'd love my best friend back but then I'm still angry at him" I told her.

"I can see your dilemma, what did Edward say about this? Have you talked to him about this?" she asked.

"He's cool with it either way" I told her, "He's being supportive, telling me to do what I feel is the right thing to do."

"Damn girl, you might just have yourself the perfect man there" she said squeezing my shoulder, "I'm a little jealous" she added grinning. "Part of me wants to say just leave him be and when he finally realises what an ass he's been he'll come to you."

"Hmmm maybe you're right" I mused, "But anyway enough about my problems, tell me about your new roomie to be and your new job?"

Two hours later we had packed up the majority of Leah's things and were taking more and more boxes out to Leah's and Edward's cars to pack. Paul had hired a U-Haul since he, Quil and Embry were also moving today, he had offered to come around and put Leah's bigger item's in it and drive it to Seattle.

"Right, that's all the boxes" she announced dusting off her hands on her jeans. "Now we just need to move the furniture out here for Paul."

We began packing the last of the boxes into the cars just as Sam pulled up with Jacob in the passenger seat and Jared in the car behind.

"Ah looks like you won't have to go and visit after all" Leah whispered to me discretely.

"This is going to be awkward" I moaned quietly straightening up.

"Hey guys!" Jared greeted us jumping out of the car.

"Hey Jared" I replied smiling at him.

"Paul's on his way with the U-Haul" he told us, "Do you want a hand getting everything out here?" he asked.

"Thanks J that'd be awesome" Leah replied.

"I'll give you a hand Jared" Edward offered.

"Sweet man, thanks" he replied, "Lead the way."

Edward and Jared headed inside to get the furniture as Leah and I continued to pack the car.

"Hey there Bells!" Sam called getting out of the car, "Hey Leah!"

"Hey Sam" we called in unison.

"Need a hand with anything?" he asked.

"We've got things sorted here, but maybe Edward or Jared could do with a hand?" I suggested.

"On it" he replied with a grin, "Good to see ya Bells, don't leave without catching up yeah?" he told me patting my back.

"Sure thing Sam" I replied with a smile. I'd always liked Sam, he was a genuinely nice person and so was Emily. He was like a big brother to me growing up just like Jake had been. He jogged up the front steps and into the house.

Jacob finally made a move to step out of the car, "Hi Bella, Leah" he greeted us walking over slowly with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Hey Jake" Leah replied.

"Hi Jacob" I said placing another box in the back seat of the Volvo.

"How's things?" he asked me.

"I'm just gonna go make sure I got everything" Leah told me squeezing my shoulder. I knew that was her subtle way of giving me a chance to have a moment alone with Jacob.

"Great, never better" I replied closing the boot after stuffing a box in the last available space.

"So everything's going well with Edward?" he asked scuffing his shoe on the ground.

"He's amazing" I answered. Man this was awkward times ten, I really didn't know what to say to him.

"That's good" he mumbled, "Man I've been such an idiot!" he blurted out all of a sudden making me jump.

"Bells, I'm really sorry about everything" he said, I could see the sincerity in his eyes. "I was such a dick, I feel really bad about what happened. I am happy for you Bells, you seem happy with him. You deserve it and he doesn't seem like such a bad guy after all."

"Thanks Jake, that means a lot to me. He isn't, he's pretty damn amazing" I told him.

"I missed you Bells" Jake said, "I'm sorry for being such a jerk."

"It's okay Jake. I missed my best bud too" I replied with a smile and it was. I couldn't stay angry at Jake when he was being so sincere.

He gave me a bone crushing hug, "Jake can't breathe!" I gasped.

"Ooops!" he laughed letting me go. "So you and Edward are pretty serious then?" he asked me, the mood had lightened considerably and now he seemed actually interested.

"Yeah" I replied with a grin.

"That grin says a lot" he laughed, "So its love then?"

I nodded in reply.

"I'm happy for you Bells, really. We obviously weren't meant to be" he said with a shrug.

"Better as friends" I replied elbowing him.

"Best friends" he corrected me with a grin.

We were interrupted by a loud honking noise coming up the road. Before I had even turned around I knew it would be Paul. He pulled up behind Edward's Volvo with a grin on his face.

"Yo Bells! Jake!" he shouted opening the door.

"Nice wheels man" Jake commented gesturing at the U-Haul.

"Jealous?" Paul asked joining us.

"You wish" Jake retorted.

Paul just laughed, "Right so where's all of Leah's shit then?" he asked looking around.

"Edward, Sam and Jared were supposed to be on it" I replied with a frown.

"Come on let's tell them to hurry the fuck up then" Paul said nearly running up the front path.

"He reminds me a little of a male version of Alice, except much bigger" I told Jake who laughed.

"I heard that" he called.

The guys lugged all of Leah's furniture outside and into the U-Haul, as soon as Edward wasn't needed he came over to me and pulled me into his embrace.

"How'd your chat go with Jacob? Leah gave me a heads us to give you two a chance to talk things out" he murmured.

"It went well, he apologised. We're friends again" I told him.

"I'm glad love" Edward replied kissing my forehead.

"Thank you" I told him pulling back and looking into his sparkling green eyes.

"For what?" he asked gazing deep into my eyes.

"For being you, for being wonderful" I replied kissing him lightly on the lips.

Half an hour later we had packed all of Leah's stuff into the vehicles and were ready to hit the road.

"Mom and Charlie are on their way, they wanted to catch up with all of us before we left. They're bring lunch" Leah told us all.

"Lunch?" we heard Quil ask walking into the living room followed by Embry.

'Trust you to turn up when foods mentioned" Jake quipped.

Quil just shrugged, "I've got good timing."

"I hope they bought enough" I told Leah looking around the room full of Quiluete boys, they all had an appetite like Emmett's which meant a hell of a lot of food would be needed to keep them happy.

"Mom will have it sorted" she replied.

Sure enough ten minutes later Sue and Charlie arrived with enough food to feed an army.

"Hi honey" Charlie greeted me with a hug.

"Hey Dad, how are you?" I asked him.

"I'm fine" he replied in a gruff tone, "It's you I'm worried about. Are you okay?" he asked concern etched in his expression.

"I'm great Dad, Edward's been taking good care of me" I told him smiling so he knew I was telling the truth.

"Good" he replied, "I like him" he told me just as Edward walked over to say hello.

"Hi son" Charlie greeted him clapping his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Charlie, it's good to see you!" Edward replied with a smile.

"And you. I just wanted to say thank you for looking after my baby girl son" he told Edward with sincerity.

"I'd do anything for Bella" was Edward's simple reply.

"I know, I appreciate it" Charlie told him with a true smile.

"Thank you" Edward replied patting Charlie's back.

"Right well better help Sue with the food then" Charlie said patting my shoulder. "You kids need to come and visit soon" he told us.

"Anytime Dad, just call and we'll come for the weekend" I told him.

"Good, I'll do that. We'll finally go fishing son?" Charlie asked Edward. They had talked about taking a fishing trip together at Christmas, I was pretty surprised by Charlie's eagerness to go fishing with Edward. Fishing with Charlie meant you were in his inner circle.

"I'm game" replied Edward grinning.

"Good man" he replied walking off to find Sue.

"Wow so Charlie really loves you" I replied staring after my Dad in amazement.

Edward just shrugged his shoulders and smirked at me. "It's a relief really" he told me putting his arm around me, "I was so worried when I met him that he'd completely hate me and try to shot me with one of his guns."

I laughed, "You laugh now but it could still happen" he said.

After lunch we were ready to leave, we had quite the convoy today. There was Leah and I in her car, Edward in his Volvo, he had insisted I go with Leah for some sisterly bonding, Paul in the U-Haul, Sam driving Paul's car, Quil and Embry also driving their own car's respectively.

Leah and I were going to take the lead as she had suggested I drive since I knew my way around Seattle now. Once we had said goodbye and see you soons we hit the tarmac.

"It's gonna be so awesome" Leah sighed happily as we made our way out of La Push, "I can't wait to spend more time with all of you."

"Me either" I replied grinning, "Although I'll warn you now, sometimes we're a little strange and some of us can grate on your nerves" I told her laughing.

She laughed in response, "I think I can handle that" she replied.

"Oh you'll fit in just fine" I reassured her.

We chatted about anything and everything for the remainder of the trip. The time flew by and in no time we had reached the city limits.

Leah gave me the address and we found the street easily.

"Oh I'm getting nervous!" she exclaimed as we looked for the right building. "I wonder what my roomie will be like in person" she pondered.

We had lost part of our convoy by the time we found Leah's new home. Quil and Embry along with Sam had gone on to their new place to start unpacking while Edward, Paul and I were going to give Leah a hand with her stuff.

We found the building and pulled into the car park, the apartment building was really nice. Newish and well maintained, I could tell Leah was buzzing with excitement. We walked towards the lobby doors leaving Paul and Edward by the cars.

We found the right number on the intercom and pressed the button.

"Hello?" answered a woman's voice.

"Hi it's Leah" Leah said into the speaker.

Before she could say another word the woman replied, "Oh! You're here! Come on up!"

We pushed open the door and headed towards the stairs and up to the fifth floor. We reached apartment 502s door and knocked.

A woman opened the door, she was our age, with tanned skin just a touch lighter than the Quiluete skin tone. She had glossy dark brown, almost black hair that reached just past her shoulders, it was poker straight. She was about my height with hazel eyes. She beamed at us.

"Hi! I'm Nessie!" she introduced herself, "Well actually it's Renesme but please call me Nessie!"

"I'm Leah" she replied with a grin, "And this is my sister Bella" she introduced me.

Nessie beamed at me, "I'm Isabella" I introduced myself, "But I prefer Bella."

She gave me a knowing smile "Come on in! I'm so excited your here" she exclaimed. "So your sisters?" she asked.

"Well step sisters really" Leah replied.

"Oh that's so cool" Nessie replied, she seemed really nice, I liked her already.

We smiled back at her, "Let me show you around real quick and then I'll come down and help you with your stuff" she said. She gave us a quick tour and then we headed downstairs to find Paul and Edward.

Edward and Paul had began to take Leah's things out of the U-Haul and stopped when they saw us coming.

"This is Edward Bella's boyfriend and our friend Paul" Leah told Nessie introducing her to the guys. "Edward, Paul, this is my new roomie Nessie."

"Hi" they both greeted her with a smile and a wave.

"It's really nice to meet you both" Nessie beamed at them.

We spent the afternoon helping Leah take all of her stuff up to the apartment, with five of us it didn't take too long.

"Right that's the last of it" Paul told us poiting to the last few boxes on the ground beside the cars. "I better get this baby on the road" he told us patting the U-Haul.

"Thanks for all your help!" Leah told him giving him a quick hug.

"Anytime Lee-lee" he replied before turning to hug me, "See you Saturday night yeah?" he asked.

"Most definitely" I replied.

"Looking forward to it!" he exclaimed, "Edward man, thanks for the muscle" he said to Edward patting him on the back.

"No problem" Edward grinned back at him.

"Nice to meet you Nessie, I'm sure I'll see you soon" he told Nessie with a smile.

"And you Paul" she replied still beaming.

We waved Paul off before saying our goodbyes too.

"Are you sure you don't want a hand setting anything up?" I asked Leah.

"I'm sure, you've already helped so much today Bells" she replied, "Thanks both of you. I'll have to have you all over for dinner or something" she continued.

"That'd be great" I told her, "But we'll see you Saturday anyway."

"Can't wait" she told me giving me a quick squeeze, "Can we invite Nessie?" she whispered in my ear.

"Of course!" I whispered back pulling away. "Hey Nessie, we're having drinks around at our place on Saturday night to get all the whole gang together and take the newbies out on the town. We'd love it if you could come?" I asked her.

"That sounds awesome!" she told me excitedly, "I'd love to, thanks!" she gave me a quick hug.

"Great, we'll see you then!" I replied.

Leah thanked Edward and after we said goodbye we headed for home. The gang were in the living room evidently waiting for us to get all the gossip of moving day.

"So" Alice said handing Edward a beer and me vodka and juice, "What's Leah's new roommate like? Oooo did you see Jacob? How is everyone in La Push?" she asked excitedly.

That was so Alice, so many questions she wanted answers for but too excited to pick just one.

"Leah's roommate is really nice, her names Renesme but she prefers Nessie and she works for a party and event planning company owned by her aunt. She coming to drinks on Saturday night so you'll get to meet her then" I told them all.

"She sounds like our kind of girl!" Rose commented.

"She is, you'll love her" I replied.

"Did you see Jacob?" Alice interrupted eagerly, she looked backwards and forwards and both Edward's and my expressions.

"Yeah I did, we talked" I told them. "It was good, he apologised, admitted he had been an idiot and we're friends again" I couldn't help but grin.

"Finally!" Alice said happily.

Rose however didn't look as pleased, "Well he'll have to prove himself to me" she told me, "But I'm glad he apologised Bells and you got to talk it out."

**Author's Note: Hope you all like Nessie! You'll be seeing her a lot more in the coming chapters =)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's note: Here's the next instalment, sorry for not updating in ages! I've been getting ready for the big move so I haven't been able to devote as much time to writing lately as I would like.**

**I would also like to say to the two reviewers who gave me bad reviews if you don't like my story then don't read it! Also if you are going to write a bad review at least enable to author to be able to reply to your review, it's really rude!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight =(**

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Alice squealed as I walked into the kitchen early on Monday morning. She was bouncing with excitement sitting on one of the bar stools with her breakfast in front of her.

"Happy Valentine's" I replied taking a suspicious glance into the mug in front of her. "You've had caffeine haven't you?" I asked. Silently I was praying she hadn't, Alice and caffeine were not a good combination at any time of the day.

"Just a cup or two" she replied still bouncing, "Oooo I'm so excited about tonight!" she squealed before eating a spoonful of cereal. Tonight Alice and Rose were once again playing beautician as Edward had some top secret surprise planned and according to them I had to look amazing. While I was also excited about this I was nervous as to what he might have planned.

The other two couples also had made plans with Emmett and Jasper both surprising their other halves.

"Happy Valentine's ladies" Rose said as she strolled into the kitchen, as soon as she spied Alice bouncing she narrowed her eyes. "Shit, she's hasn't had caffeine has she?"

"Yep" I replied with a grimace.

"Aw dammit Alice!" Rose groaned.

"I was excited about Valentines" she squealed. "I have a really good feeling about tonight" she continued.

Rose and I looked at each other, suddenly curious. Alice was always right when she had feelings or thought about things, you never bet against Alice for that very reason.

"You do?" Rose asked her while pouring herself a coffee.

"Mmmmhmmm" murmured Alice, "It's going to be awesome I'm sure of it."

We both looked at each other eyebrows raised.

I was driving the girls to UW today since Edward had decided to take the morning off and finish the last minute preparations for tonight. He had promised to be there by lunch time though. So after we finished breakfast we headed out to my car and headed to campus.

Alice was still bouncing and talking a mile a minute. "I wonder what Jazzy's surprise is, oooo I wonder where we're going, I can't wait!" she squealed.

"I wonder if the caffeine will wear off before tonight?" Rose asked, "If not lucky Jazzy!" she said grinning at me making me laugh.

When I pulled into the parking lot and found a park Alice launched herself out of the car and grabbed Rose by the arm. "Hurry up Rose! You are going so sloooooowly" Alice moaned shifting from one foot to the other.

"See you at lunch" I told them with a grin, Rose already looked overwhelmed by Alice's caffeine high.

"If I make it through the morning alive" Rose replied making me laugh.

The morning was not exactly uneventful, people were delivered flowers and other Valentine-y merchandise during every class and when I made my way to the cafeteria for lunch I was ambushed by Mike.

"Hey Bella" Mike called falling into pace beside me.

I walked a little faster, "Oh Hi Mike" I replied.

"Happy Valentine's!" he said.

"Oh thanks and you" I replied, I found that with Mike you didn't really ever need to say a lot. If you said too much he was encouraged if you said to little it made no difference.

"Got much planned for tonight?" he asked, I could hear the hope in his tone that I was going to answer no.

"Yeah, Edward has some big surprise planned" I told him, "What about you?"

His face fell "No nothing yet" he told me.

Suddenly I had a bright idea, "You know Mike, you should ask Jess out" I told him, "I know you two dated a little in school but I think she still really likes you" I continued.

"You think so?" he asked looking pleased.

"Oh sure!" I replied, "And I know you still kinda like her too" I added lightly elbowing him.

"I do" he replied, "She's really pretty."

I nodded in agreement, "She's just over there" I told him subtly nodding in her direction, "Go ask her now!"

"Okay I will, thanks Bella" he replied giving me a wide grin.

"No problem Mike, let me know if she says yes okay?" I told him, I wanted to see if I was any good at this match making business.

"I will" he said "Catch you later" he waved making his way over to where Jess was standing.

I smiled to myself as I walked to the cafeteria, I could see the appeal matchmaking had, no wonder Alice enjoyed doing it for everyone she knows. You get this oddly satisfied feeling knowing you could be responsible for someone else's happiness.

"You look pleased with yourself" Rose commented as I pulled up a chair beside Edward.

"I just played matchmaker" I replied smugly.

"What? With who?" Alice asked eagerly. She had calmed down a notch so the coffee's effects must have been wearing off.

Jasper, Rose and Edward were also looking at me intrigued.

"Mike and Jess" I replied still feeling smug.

They all stared at me, "And?" Alice asked, she always wanted more details.

"Bella" I heard someone say from my side. I looked up to see Mike.

"How'd it go?" I asked eagerly. I was kind of excited.

"She said yes! I'm taking her out on a date tonight" he replied happily. "Thanks!" he exclaimed.

"No problem" I replied waving my hand. "I hope you have a good time."

"You too and thanks again!" he told me grinning like a Cheshire cat and walking over to the table where Jessica and her friends were sitting.

"Looks like we've got Cupid sitting at our table" Rose said breaking the silence.

_Later that day_

As per our usual routine we had set ourselves up in Alice's room to get ready for our 'dates'.

After spending two hours primping, polishing and preening ourselves Alice deemed we were finally ready for our respective evenings.

Alice had rejected her original choice of outfit for the evening which we had purchased on a shopping trip just a week before. She had opted for a cute strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. It had a pink, pale grey and white print that looked like it had been painted in water colour with a few splashes of pale yellow.

She added matching jewellery and pink beaded stilettos and left her dark hair down. She looked amazing as always and I knew Jasper would think so too.

Emmett would also be in for a treat tonight, Rose was wearing a strapless dress too but hers was a pretty coral colour with sliver stilettos. Her hair was half pinned back and she too looked gorgeous.

I looked at myself in the mirror and was pleased had chosen this particular dress for tonight. It was a midnight blue silk halter dress, it had an empire waist and flowed to just below my knee.

On Rose's advice I teamed it with sparkly gold stilettos and jewellery and left my hair down and wavy.

"Bells you look gorgeous!" Alice exclaimed.

"Definitely" Rose agreed nodding. "I wouldn't be surprised if you and Edward don't even end up leaving the bedroom tonight" she added with a wink.

"Speak for yourself" I grinned back, "Isn't that what you had planned for Emmett?"

She laughed, "Maybe."

"Rosie?" we heard Emmett call from downstairs.

"Looks like your dates here" Alice beamed at her.

"Have fun ladies and don't do anything I wouldn't do" she grinned walking towards the door.

"Well that gives us a lot of options for this evening then" Alice replied cheekily.

"You know it" laughed Rose leaving the room.

Alice fussed around with her hair until Jasper text her and told her he was downstairs.

"Have an awesome time" I said handing her the little clutch she was taking tonight.

"Thanks Bells you too, I can't wait to hear everything tomorrow!" she replied excitedly.

I waited in Alice's room for a while fidgeting constantly, I had no reason to be nervous. This was Edward, my Edward I was spending this Valentine's Day with.

Eventually I got up and walked to my room, fussing around with the books on my shelf and straightening things on my dresser.

It had now been half an hour since Alice and Rose had left. I began to panic that perhaps Edward was going to stand me up, maybe he had finally realised that he could do so much better than me. I had been waiting for that to happen since we first started dating. He was way out of my league.

I was so worked up I didn't even hear the front door open and footsteps sound on the stairs. I sat down on the edge of my bed trying not to ruin my hair by running my hands through it.

There was a brief knock on my door, "Bella?" I heard Edward's voice as he turned the door handle.

I grabbed a book off the nightstand and pretended to read it, I didn't want it to be obvious I had been having a full on freak out. "Hey" I answered him when he opened the door.

"Happy Valentine's Day my love" he replied striding across the room.

He looked amazing; he was wearing dark gray slacks and a dark blue shirt that matched my dress. His hair was in its usual disarray, which was exactly the way I liked it.

I stood up to meet him and when he reached me he gently took my face in his hands and kissed me.

"You look so beautiful" he murmured in my ear, before crashing his lips down on mine again.

"Happy Valentine's to you too" I told him once we had broken apart, swooning a little from the kiss.

He beamed at me, "I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long love" he told me.

"It's okay" I replied with a wave of my hand. There was no way in hell I was going to let him know how I almost had a complete meltdown.

He stared deep in to my eyes, the expression on his face told me he could see the trace of hurt and panic that remained.

"I wanted everything to be perfect for tonight" he explained running his hand through his hair and smiling at me.

"It will be" I told him, "Alice has a feeling" I added with a giggle.

"Of course she does" he chuckled in response. "Are you ready to leave love?" he asked.

I nodded grabbing my purse and coat. Edward took the coat off me and held it up so I could slip my arms into the sleeves. Then he took my hand in his and led me downstairs.

We got into the Volvo and sped off down the street. I had no idea where he was taking me and to be honest I didn't even care. I stole glances at him every few minutes, he looked incredibly sexy tonight and I just couldn't keep my eyes off him.

He caught me staring and grinned at me. "No twenty questions tonight as to where I'm taking you?" he teased.

"No, tonight I figured I'd let you have your fun" I replied.

"I'm glad" he replied chuckling.

I knew we were driving towards the harbour; I had managed to piece that much together. I had no idea why though.

Finally he parked the car and got out to open my door for me. "Curious?" he asked his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Very" I replied still feeling confused.

He held my hand as he led me down to the docks. It looked beautiful at this time of night, the lights twinkling and reflecting on the calm water. I spotted a boat with pretty lights just up ahead. To my surprise Edward stopped in front of it.

"Surprise love" he said nervously awaiting my reaction.

I just stared at him speechless as he climbed on board holding out his hand to help me.

"Mr Cullen, Ms Swan" greeted the captain. "Let me know when you are ready to depart" he told us.

"Now please" Edward told him.

"Of course" he answered leaving us alone.

Edward led me over to the seats, I realised I still hadn't said anything.

"Edward this is incredible" I told him throwing my arms around him.

"You like your surprise?" he asked grinning.

"I love it" I told him, "Am I allowed to know what else you have planned?" I asked

"Dinner will be served when we moor" he told me, "followed by dancing and a cruise around the harbour.

"It sounds perfect" I breathed, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I had the most romantic man on the face of the earth plan the most amazing Valentine's evening.

He laid his hand on my cheek, "You're perfect" he breathed. "So beautiful, I love you so much Bella" he said, I could hear the truth and the emotion behind every word he uttered.

"I love you too Edward" I told him before capturing his lips with mine.

And the evening was perfect, never had I had anyone do anything like this for me. It was the best Valentine's Day I had ever experienced.

_Later that week_

I was still on a high from the incredible, romantic Valentine's Day I had spent with Edward, even though we were still in the early stages of our relationship I knew for certain that I wanted to be with him forever.

I hoped he felt the same; he was perfect, like he was made for me. I smiled to myself as I thought about that night.

"Bella, earth to Bella" Alice said waving her hand in front of my face.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked her sheepishly.

"Day dreaming about Edward again huh?" Rose asked nudging me lightly.

I blushed embarrassed.

"I'm taking that as a yes" Alice giggled. "Anyway I wanted to know what flavour margaritas you felt like having tonight?" she asked again.

"Oh" I replied, we were at the bottle store picking up drinks for tonight, we were having the La Push crew who now lived in Seattle over for a party. First stop was alcohol and the next was food.

"Right, ummmmmm strawberry is always good" I told her selecting the mix from the shelf, "maybe mango too" I added.

Alice nodded in agreement, "That's what I was thinking" she told us putting the mixes into the trolley. "That looks like everything" she announced.

We made our way to the checkout and paid for our drinks. After loading the bags into the boot of my car we headed back into the mall to the grocery store.

We stocked up on all the usual party-ish foods and headed back home to get ready for tonight.

A couple of hours later we were ready thanks to Edward who came over to help prepare all of the food. Jasper babysat Emmett so he wouldn't come and 'help' Edward much to Emmett's annoyance.

I was wearing dark wash jeans tonight with a sparkly sequinned bronze coloured top which had a V neck and spaghetti straps. Over the top of that I was wearing a short sleeved cropped black jacket and T strap heels and Alice had helped me style my hair so that it was half pinned back.

Alice had also gone for dark wash jeans and a jewel toned purple top that looked amazing on her and Rose was wearing jeans with a black embellished top.

We headed downstairs to grab a drink and wait for the crew to arrive which didn't take long.

The doorbell rang and Alice bounced to the door to answer it.

"Hey guys!" Paul greeted us as he walked into the living room followed by Quil and Embry.

"Hey" we all greeted them.

Once they had drinks in hand we settled down to wait for the much anticipated arrival of Leah and Nessie.

"So how're you finding living in Seattle?" Jasper asked them.

They all nodded, "It's awesome" Quil answered enthusiastically.

Embry nodded again in agreement, "It's way different to the rez that's for sure!"

We all laughed but were interrupted by the doorbell once more.

"That'll be Leah and Nessie" I told them jumping up to let them in.

"Hi Bells!" Leah said when I opened the door.

"Hey Lee, Nessie, so glad you guys could come" I told them giving them both a quick hug.

"Thanks for inviting me!" Nessie exclaimed as I led them into the living room.

"Hey guys you all know Leah and this is her roommate Nessie" I told the group. "Nessie this is Alice and Jasper, Rose and Emmett and Edward" I continued pointing them all out.

"It's nice to meet you all" Nessie told them before taking the drink Alice was holding out for her and taking a seat.

A few hours later we were all a little tipsy, Nessie fit in so well with the group I could tell we'd be spending a lot of time with her and Leah which was great! We decided to move our wee party to a club since Quil was dying to meet some city girls.

When we arrived at the club we found a booth and Emmett ordered us all a drink.

"Let's go dance" Rose suggested after a few rounds of drinks.

"Totally" Alice replied jumping up out of her seat and leading us towards the floor.

After dancing to a few songs Leah had an admirer.

"Leah that guy is totally checking you out!" Nessie squealed nodding her head in the direction of the bar.

"Really?" she asked intrigued looking towards the bar.

"Oooo he's cute" Alice exclaimed looking at the guy Nessie was meaning.

"Very" added Rose, "Who's up for another drink?"

We all told her what we wanted and she walked up to the bar with Leah. Before long Leah and the cute mystery man had struck up a conversation so Rose left them to it and walked back towards the dance floor with smile on her face.

"His name's Blake and he's a total gentleman" she informed us.

"They look like they really hit it off" I said glancing towards them sitting at the bar talking and laughing. I was really pleased Leah was having such a good time.

"Oh they have" Rose replied, "Match made in heaven I'd say" she added.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's note: I know I've been terrible at updating this story, but after a major case of writers block I've figured out how I want this story to go, so you can expect more regular updates from now on! Also the chapters are going to be shorter so I can update more frequently.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, the sequels or the characters. But I own this story line =)**

With Valentine's Day been and gone Spring Break was just around the corner. One whole week of no responsibilities, no course work and binge drinking was what most of our friends had planned but us? Well we had decided on a road trip.

Emmett was like a child at Christmas time at the mere thought of a road trip so now all we had to sort out was where would we go?

Rose was adamant it had to be somewhere hot and sunny. After all what's the point in a cold and rainy spring break she argued. So with that in mind we all agreed that we would head to Phoenix, Arizona, my once upon a time home town.

I hadn't been back since I left last year and part of me was really looking forward to catching up with old friends and getting the chance to show my friends around Phoenix.

The other part of me was a little nervous.

The week building up to Spring Break was over before we knew it and since none of us ended up having classes on the Friday we had decided the night before that we would leave early in the morning.

Emmett's hummer would be our transport since it was the only car in our group that would fit us all in it. He would drive for the first day to our first stop in California and I would drive the second day to Phoenix (since I was the only one who had ever driven there).

We all packed the night before and went to bed early knowing tomorrow was going to be a long day.

_The next morning – 5:30am_

Alice, Jasper, Edward and I were sitting in our kitchen eating breakfast when Rose finally shuffled into the room.

"Why the fuck do we have to be up so damn early?" she groaned pulling up a stool at the breakfast bar.

Jasper mumbled something about wanted to beat the traffic earning him a glare from Rose.

"I'd rather get stuck in traffic than be up at this hour" Rose snapped.

Sensing things were already getting off to a bad start Alice placed a strong black coffee in front of Rose which seemed to improve her mood.

Emmett was clearly excited as he bounced into the room like one of those wind up Tigger toys. "Road Trip bitches!" he yelled, "let's get this show on the road."

"Calm the fuck down Em, Edward made breakfast" Jasper announced waving a forkful of waffle at Emmett.

Emmett hurried to fill his plate and then his face.

Once we had finished breakfast we loaded the last of the bags into the truck and piled in. Jasper had volunteered to navigate leaving him to sit in the front seat with Emmett.

We all knew that this was going to end badly but would provide entertainment for the rest of us.

Sure enough one hour in, outside of Seattle things got heated.

"Emmett you idiot, I said turn left not right" Jasper moaned exasperatedly.

"You did not you pointed this way" Emmett retorted.

Jasper sighed loudly, "If you don't follow my directions Em, we'll never make it into California tonight."

"Well maybe if you told me the right way to go that would help" Emmett shot back, "Don't you know how to read a map?"

Edward rolled his eyes and Alice whispered over the back of our seats "Should we break it up?"

"No way, let's see how this pans out" Edward whispered back.

"This is exactly like the time you wanted to drive all the way to Las Vegas and you got us lost in the middle of the freaking desert" Jasper replied in a raised voice.

"Again Jasper that was your fault, if you learnt how to read a map and tell me where to turn before I drive past the road we need to turn down it would solve a whole lot of problems."

"I don't know what the fuck you think you're talking about it's not like you know how to read a map" Jasper spat.

"I do too" Emmett whined.

Jasper snorted.

"Would you two shut the hell up? I'm trying to relax back here" Rose shouted all of a sudden, "And neither of you know how to read a map by the way" she added.

"Sorry Rosie" Emmett muttered.

"Yeah Rose sorry" Jasper added sheepishly.

"She's right man we are both shit at reading maps" Emmett said.

"Yeah" Jasper laughed.

The next few hours went by event free, except for a little singing from the front two seats. Finally Emmett announced he was I quote 'going to die if we didn't stop for food' we decided lunch was in order.

We stopped at a side of the road diner which the boys loved but us girls not so much and then piled back into the truck with Rose at the wheel this time to try and make it to our hotel before night fall.

_The next day_

We got up early again the next day for the final leg of our road trip. We had driven for 16 hours the previous day so in about 7 hours we would finally be in Phoenix.

It was my turn behind the wheel and Alice insisted on shot gun so she could be in charge of the stereo. Which meant she got to play her California themed road trip CD she had got Jasper to burn for her during the week.

Five long hours later we were about to cross the border.

"Welcome to Arizona guys!" I announced as be crossed the border.

"It's very deserty" Emmett commented appreciatively making us all laugh.

"Yeah that it is" I replied starting to feel nostalgic.

Part of me did really miss the desert, the endless blue skies and the heat. But it didn't feel like home anymore, not really. Things had changed a lot since August last year and I was finally ready to face my old friends in Phoenix.

Even Brad and Sophie, which was rather a big step for me, but since I had Edward I knew things would somehow turn out okay.

I pointed out things of interest as we neared the city; the excitement was being to build in the car. Tonight we were going round to Chelsea and Tara's place for drinks and a barbeque and after the long trip we were all looking forward to it.

The sign welcoming us to Phoenix appeared in the distance causing another round of cheers.

We headed straight to our hotel and got freshened up and changed for tonight.

We decided to go casual all wearing jeans, I wore mine with a white top with splashes of colour, Alice wore a dark blue embellished top and Rose a coral coloured tank with studs.

The guys were wearing jeans and t shirts and since we had taken a lot longer to get ready than they had they had managed to sneak a beer in before we hit the road.

I drove the familiar route to Chelsea and Tara's and pulled Emmett's beast of a truck into a parking spot out on the street.

"Bella! I can't believe you're here!" Chelsea squealed running across the front lawn to meet us with Tara trailing not far behind.

"Me either! It's so good to see you" I told her hugging her tightly.

"You look great babe" Tara said quietly hugging me next, "Could that have something to do with your hunk of a boyfriend?" she giggled.

"Maybe" I laughed in reply.

After everyone had greeted each other Chelsea and Tara ushered us to the front door.

"Oh Bells, we should probably warn you" Chelsea said stopping to turn around and look at me.

"Warn me?" I asked suspiciously.

"Uh yeah, we didn't invite him but he showed up with a whole group of people" Tara added.

"Brad's here?"


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's note: Things get a little heated in this chapter, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight, I just own copies of the books, movies….**

Rose was the one who had put two and two together first to be able to ask the question first.

Chelsea and Tara winced looking at me for a reaction.

"Is he?" Rose demanded, "I'll kick his ass" she warned.

"Uh yeah he is, I'm really sorry Bella" Tara finally replied.

I nodded once and felt Edwards arm snake around my waist.

"You know what? It's fine" I told them smiling.

"What?" everyone asked all at once.

"It's okay, I've moved on from all of that, if he's here that's fine" I told them all.

Alice narrowed her eyes, "If you're sure?" she asked.

I nodded again.

"But if he tries any shit…" she warned.

I laughed, "You have my permission to do whatever you want."

Alice smiled at Rose and the guys all seemed happy with the arrangement so we headed inside.

"Look who's here!" Tara announced as we walked into the yard where everyone was relaxing in chairs or on the lawn.

I spotted Brad sitting with a couple of his friends over near the grill, I looked away quickly not wanting to get his attention.

For the next few hours he left me alone which suited me fine, I caught up with all of my old friends and introduced them all to Edward and the gang.

After we all had dinner I headed inside to the kitchen to grab us all another beer, where I finally came face to face with Brad.

It was inevitable of course.

"Hi Bella" he said from his spot leaning up against the counter.

"Oh hi" I replied looking up from the box of beers I had been staring at.

He smirked at me, "You're looking good Bells."

I cringed saying nothing.

"Really good" he continued, moving closer and appraising me with his creepy eyes.

"What do you want Brad?" I asked him getting annoyed.

"I just want to catch up with you Bella, I miss you" he replied winking.

Ew gross.

"Uh huh" I replied looking away again to the beer box and grabbing six out to put on the counter.

"So are you really seeing that guy out there?" he asked sidling over to me.

"Yes I am, his names Edward" I replied not able to hide the irritation in my voice.

"Ooo touchy touchy, having problems at home?" he questioned smirking again and putting his arm around me.

"Don't you dare touch me!" I spat.

"Aw come on Bella, you know you're still attracted to me" he sneered.

"In your dreams" I said raising my voice.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Edward demanded walking into the kitchen.

"We're just catching up man, chill out" Brad sneered.

"It didn't sound like that to me" Edward replied angrily, "If she says don't touch her then don't touch her" he spat.

"And what the hell are you gonna do?" Brad asked dropping his arm and sauntering towards Edward.

"I don't think you really want to find out" Edward replied still fuming.

Brad laughed in response, "Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that?"

"I'm her boyfriend you bastard" Edward snarled.

I watched on in shock, I wasn't sure what to do. Things were getting totally out of hand.

"She knows she still wants me" Brad retorted, "she shouldn't have broken up with me in the first place, it's not my fault one woman isn't enough for me."

"You're a low life dick" Edward snarled.

"And she's a fucking bitch" Brad yelled.

And then Edward snapped.

I watched in horror as Edward's fist met Brad's jaw and all hell broke loose.

"Stop!" I screamed at them, helpless.

The next thing I knew Emmett and Jasper came storming into the kitchen ripping Edward and Brad apart.

Edward was now sporting a cut lip while Brad looked far worse off; it looked like Edward had won that fight.

"Oh Edward" I cried touching his face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine love" he reassured me.

"What the hell bro?" Emmett shouted holding Edward back while Jasper was taking care of Brad.

"He deserved it Em" Edward replied, "He was talking badly about Bella, I couldn't just stand by and let him talk about her like that." He then turned to face Brad, "If you ever speak badly about her ever again you'll be a lot worse off than this" he threatened.

Emmett turned to glare at Brad, "And you'll have me to answer to too" he warned.

Jasper kicked Brad out of the kitchen and informed Chelsea about what had happened. She went completely mental throwing him out of the house after slapping him and telling him to never show his face around here again.

"I'm sorry for scaring you love" Edward said suddenly, wrapping his arms around me, "I just couldn't stand by and let him say that about you."

"Thank you for standing up for me" I told him, "Are you sure you're okay? I think we should head back to the hotel so I can clean up your lip."

He reassured me he was but thought leaving would probably be a good idea.

We all said our goodbyes and headed out to the car.

When we got back to the hotel I cleaned up Edward's lip and filled the others in on what had gone down in the kitchen.

They were all furious and Rose was keen to pay Brad a little night time visit. We all talked her out of that idea; it wasn't that we were worried about Rose getting hurt just getting into trouble.

We left Phoenix a week later after making promises to catch up more often. I was glad to be heading home after the drama my return to Phoenix had caused and I wasn't planning a returning visit anytime in the near future.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's note: As promised another update! I'm trying to be good since I left all of you hanging for a while there. Please read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: No copy right infringement intended. I don't own Twilight!**

Getting back into the swing of classes and assignments proved to be far less difficult than I had anticipated, maybe it was because I was glad to be home.

Soon March became April when the weather got warmer and we celebrated Emmett's birthday by going to the circus after he insisted that we all go. April turned into May where we threw Rose a surprise birthday party and then June rolled around where we celebrated Edward's 22nd birthday.

Not long after that we got handed our final assignments, they had to be turned in two weeks before exams on the last official day of the semester before study break. This gave us only a month left of college before exams and graduation.

For Edward's final assignment he had to work with another class mate to produce plans for a fictional hotel that abided by all of the building regulations in Seattle. His partner was Victoria Law, a pretty red headed girl from his class.

This was where everything started to change, for the worse.

It started off with none of us spending much time together due to the seriousness of the assignments and the fact that we had so much material to study before exams.

I barely got to spend much time with Edward either and that was taking its toll.

To top it all off Victoria hated me and was out for blood. She had made it her goal to break me and Edward up by the time study break came around.

"Where's Edward tonight?" Alice asked as we got dinner ready, Jasper and Emmett were coming over to hang out since we all decided to give ourselves the night off.

"With Victoria" I replied through gritted teeth.

"Again?" asked Rose.

"Yep, apparently they hit a speed bump in their project and the only way they can get around it is to work on it tonight" I replied bitterly.

Lately this had become a common occurrence, everything that she was supposed to be doing for the project she was fucking up. I knew she was doing it on purpose so she could spend more time with him.

The worst part of it all was that I wasn't being paranoid, it was true.

Rose shook her head, "Honey I know you're worried there's something going on but there isn't. Edward would never ever hurt you he loves you too much for that."

"I know, I trust him, but I don't trust her" I replied sadly.

"Well she's a bitch" Alice spat, "Seriously she's acting like a bit of a home wrecker" she added.

I nodded in agreement, "He needs to pass this assignment though so I guess I'll just have to wait it out, exams aren't far away."

"That's the spirit babe" Rose replied.

Edward was supposed to come over that night once he was done, but he didn't. He said it was too late and he didn't want to wake me. I told him I didn't care and we ended up arguing for the first time.

A week later and there was no improvement. Friday night we were all supposed to have drinks together but of course Edward had to cancel on us. For the next few weeks it became a pattern, it was predictable. I was trying my best to be supportive but it was becoming more and more difficult.

Finally I decided to confront him about it one Friday when he drove me home before going to a study group.

Needless to say we had the biggest fight in our entire relationship.

"Bella, I've told you there is nothing to worry about. Victoria just really wants this project to be a success and I do too" he said in a raised voice.

"I understand that completely Edward I really do. But you can't see what the rest of us can, she's tearing us apart on purpose, I don't understand how you can't see that" I yelled back.

"She's not like that, it's not like that" he yelled back.

Things got more and more heated until….

"Maybe we should take a break then" I blurted out, "Once exams are over we can figure things out" I added angrily.

"If that's what you want maybe we should make it permanent" Edward retorted.

"Fine, that's fine by me" I screamed back.

He stormed out of the living room slamming the front door as he went. Suddenly the realisation of what had just happened hit me.

It was over, we were over.

I slid down the wall to lie in a crumpled mess on the floor.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's note: A big thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! I love hearing your feedback and love that you are enjoying the story! This chapter was really hard to write, you might need the tissues handy….. Also there will be points of view from several different characters for this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight and all of its characters**

_**Emmett's Point of View**_

_I was sitting in the living room playing Xbox, glad that I had the afternoon off since we were all going out drinking tonight when Edward stormed into the house slamming the door so hard it almost came off its hinges._

"_What the hell bro?" I asked him as he stalked into the living room._

"_Fuck off Emmett" he spat at me._

"_Whoa Ed what's wrong?" I asked him. I'd never ever seen him this angry before._

"_I had a fight with Bella" he replied closing his eyes and running his hand through his hair, "It's over."_

_I stared at him stunned, "You broke up?" I asked horrified._

"_Yes" he whispered in a strained tone, he looked cut up. Devastated._

"_What happened bro?" I asked moving over to where he was standing, "You wanna tell what happened?" _

"_No, I need to be alone" he repeated leaving the room and making his way upstairs._

_I couldn't believe what he'd just told me, they can't have broken up. Then I realised Bella was on her own, Rose and Alice had late classes today. Without a second thought I ran out the door._

**Bella's Point of View**

I lay on the living room floor, pain radiating through my body. I couldn't cry, if I cried it would feel more real and I didn't want that. I was in shock and in denial. It felt like someone had punched a hole in my chest crushing my lungs so I could no longer breathe.

_**Emmett's Point of View**_

_I threw the girl's front door open and ran inside letting it shut itself behind me. I found Bella crumpled on the floor, her arms wrapped around her small frame._

"_Bella, shit what happened?" I asked her kneeling on the floor beside her._

_She didn't even look at me, I'm not sure she even heard me. I scooped her up off the floor and walked her over to the sofa where I sat down holding her._

"_Bellsy talk to me, what happened?' I asked her again._

"_It's over" she whispered._

"_You and Edward" I asked for confirmation, I needed to hear it from her._

_She nodded wincing at the sound of his name; tears began to stream down her cheeks._

"_It'll be okay Bells" I reassured her holding her as she cried._

_**Alice's Point of View**_

"_Hey Bells we're home!" I called opening the front door with Rose right behind me._

"_We're in the living room" Emmett's voice called back, he sounded upset._

_I looked at Rose, she shrugged but I could tell she was as confused as I was. I thought Bella was spending time with Edward today. She had really been looking forward to it._

_We walked into the living room to find Emmett with his arm around a sobbing Bella._

_I froze, instantly I knew what was wrong._

"_Emmett what happened?" Rose asked panicked, "Bella what's wrong?"_

"_They had a fight, it's over" Emmett said in a pained voice._

"_No!" I cried running towards Bella and putting my arms around her. "Bells are you okay?" she shook her head tears flowing freely._

_Rose came over and put her arms around us both and we cried together, desperately trying to comfort our best friend._

_**Emmett's Point of View**_

_I left the girls to have some time alone, texting Jasper and ordering him to come straight home and stay away from next door._

_He arrived home not long after that._

"_What's up man?" he asked sitting down heavily next to me on the sofa._

"_Some shit went down this afternoon" I told him not really sure where I should start._

"_What's wrong?" Jasper asked his face turning pale, "It's not Alice is it? Is she okay?" he asked worried._

"_No, it's Bella and Edward" I said._

_Jasper frowned, confused._

"_They had a massive fight, he broke it off" I said sadly._

"_Fuck are you serious?" Jasper asked shocked._

"_Yeah, I wish I wasn't though" I replied running my hand through my hair. "She's really cut up about it and Edward's locked himself in his room."_

"_Shit" Jasper exhaled, "I knew Bella was having a rough time with him not being around as much but I had no idea that they'd ever…" he trailed off in disbelief._

"_I know" I replied, "I'm fucking angry at him for doing this, he caused all of this shit" I said, "You should have seen her Jazz, she's in pain, it was like she couldn't breathe or something."_

_He shook his head, "I'm mad at him too, this has gotten way out of hand" he said standing up._

"_Where are you going?" I asked._

"_To check on Bella" he replied._

**Bella's Point of View**

I didn't hear Emmett come in; I didn't hear what he said when he saw me lying on the floor. I was glad he was here though holding me when the tears began to flow and wouldn't stop. I knew that the second I was alone the hole that was ripping through my chest would drag me under.

Alice and Rose came home and held me, cried with me. I kept hoping I would wake up from this horrible nightmare, but it wasn't a dream; there would be no waking up. This was real, it was over.

Time seemed irrelevant now; I wasn't sure how long we sat there together before Emmett came back with Jasper.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_I shut myself in my room. I didn't want to be around my brother or Jasper, I knew what they would say and I couldn't deal with that right now._

_Bella didn't want me anymore and I needed to wallow in my thoughts, alone._

**Bella's Point of View**

Eventually I needed to be alone; I somehow made my way up to my room where there were too many painful reminders of him. I picked up all of the photos and put them in a box in my closet where they were hidden and no longer existed.

I slid to the floor again where I lay for a long time. I wish I could say I'd fallen asleep, but I hadn't. The gaping hole in my chest throbbed horribly.

I didn't sleep all night, I just lay there. Some of the time I cried, loudly, at one point Rose and Alice came and slept on either side of me trying to comfort me, the rest I just lay there struggling to breathe as the sun rose indicating another day, without Edward.

The weekend passed in lurches, time would drag so slowly it felt like it had stopped completely and then it would speed up so fast it felt like I'd blink and two hours would pass.

By the time my final week of college arrived I was a mess, a total zombie. I dragged myself out of bed reluctantly and got dressed in a daze. I was dreaded today, being around other people. I had become a hermit over the weekend.

Rose and Alice were both up when I got down stairs; they watched me with worried eyes.

I refused offers of breakfast; I wasn't hungry and drove myself to campus. On the way I devised a plan, I would spend all of my time in between classes in the library studying. If I spent the bare minimum of time around people I wouldn't have to talk much.

It worked; I managed to avoid everyone all day. I arrived home later that day not knowing how I'd got there. I must have driven, but I couldn't remember a thing.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's note: Edward'sBella21 helped me realise I accidently posted the same chapter twice yesterday. I am so sorry about this! Here is the real chapter 30 and a big thanks to Edward'sBella21!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twlight**

Somehow I made it through my last week at UW, barely. I felt dead inside, zombie like. I knew Alice and Rose were hurt by my ant- social behaviour, but I just wasn't myself anymore.

I spent all of my time holed up in my room now days, studying furiously as a form of distraction. If only one good thing came out of this fuck awful situation it would be that I would have excellent grades.

This thought didn't make me feel any better.

My first few exams went well, due to the fact that I had spent every waking hour lately revising. Now I faced the terrifying prospect of figuring out what I would do when I finally graduated. Results would come out about 5 weeks after my last exam when I would find out if I was able to graduate. And then….?

I didn't know what would happen next, I didn't want to think about it.

_**Rosalie's Point of View**_

"_I'm really worried about Bella" I said one afternoon sitting in the boy's living room with Alice, Emmett and Jasper._

_It had been four weeks now since that awful afternoon when they had broken up and it was plain to see that Bella wasn't coping; at all._

_She barely ate, rarely spoke and I knew she wasn't sleeping. She looked so broken it made me want to cry when I saw her._

_Alice exhaled loudly, "I know" she replied her eyes filling with tears, "I thought she would start to deal with things a little better as time went on, but she's not. If anything she seems to be getting worse" she added._

_Emmett looked forlorn, "What can we do though babe?" he asked me, "She won't even talk to any of us anymore."_

"_I'm not sure" I sighed, "But we have to do something."_

_Just then I heard footsteps on the stairs; Edward._

_I had hardly seen Edward over the past few weeks, so I was shocked when he entered the living room._

_He looked awful too. _

"_Hey Edward" I said softly, as the others greeted him too._

_He nodded in my direction, "Off to my exam" he said bluntly picking up his keys and heading out the door._

_Once he was out of earshot I spoke up, "He looks like he's dealing with things just as badly as Bella."_

_Jasper nodded, "You'd be right" he told me. "He's devastated; I've never seen him like this, ever."_

"_Has he talked to you two at all about what happened?" Alice asked, "Told you why and what they were fighting about?"_

"_Nope" Emmett replied._

"_I think we all have a fair idea though" Jasper added._

_I nodded._

"_We need to get him talking, find out the nitty gritty of what happened, see if it's repairable" Alice spoke up reading my mind._

"_Exactly" I chimed in, "We won't meddle though, that wouldn't be right, but perhaps if we get him to open up" I told them all, "Just maybe he'll get the motivation to win her back."_

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_The past four weeks had been the most difficult of my entire life. I spent the majority of them holed up in my room, running that day over and over in my head. _

_After I had dissected every little detail I moved on to the weeks leading up to that day, trying to find where things had gone wrong._

_Fuck._

_I headed downstairs; I had another exam to get to. I would head home straight after and finish my dissection. _

_They were all downstairs, I could hear them._

_They were talking about Bella, hearing her name caused stabbing pains in my chest. _

_I walked into the living room pretending I hadn't heard a thing._

"_Hey Edward" they all said greeting me with concerned eyes._

_I nodded at them, "Off to my exam" I said to no one in particular, snatching up my keys and heading out the door._

_Somehow I finished my exam, and felt like I had done okay. I avoided all of my classmates and headed straight out to the parking lot._

"_Edward" I heard a voice call across the lot._

_I didn't turn around, I knew I was being rude, but right now I didn't give a fuck. I just wanted to go home and wallow._

"_Edward!" the voice called again sounded much closer this time. I could hear the person running to catch up._

_I pulled my keys from my pocket, getting ready to unlock the Volvo's door._

"_Hey" the voice said, having caught up with me._

_I finally turned around, coming face to face with Victoria._

_I just stared at her._

"_I heard about you and Bella" she said a small smile playing on her lips, "I'm really sorry" she offered._

"_Yep" I replied tersely._

_She was still standing there, what the fuck did she want?_

"_But you know" she said reaching out and touching my arm, running her hand up and down, "You can do so much better than her Edward" she simpered. "You know, I could help you there" she continued smiling at me._

_And suddenly it all became clear to me._

_Fuck._

_Bella was right, of course she was right. I had just thought she was being paranoid, that she didn't trust me. But it wasn't that at all._

_I was such an idiot._

_All this time I was resenting her for not trusting me, for her even entertaining the idea that I would ever cheat on her; I was wrong, so fucking wrong._

"_Get your fucking hands off me" I spat, wrenching my arm away from her._

"_What's wrong?" she asked, visibly confused._

_I was angry, furious. It kind of took me by surprise; it had been weeks since I'd felt any kind of emotion that wasn't total despair and self-loathing._

"_You are a home wrecking bitch" I accused, "I can't believe I didn't see it before. You caused this" I continued angrily._

_She looked smug._

"_You made me lose the single most important thing in my life, my reason for living" I yelled not caring if anyone heard me._

"_I helped you" she insisted, "You deserve better than her."_

"_You're wrong, she deserves better than me" and with that I jumped into my Volvo and sped out of the parking lot._


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, Edward finally realised and wants Bella back, hooray!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Twilight, but I don't**

Eventually my last exam arrived, the extra studying definitely helped. For three short hours I was able to block out everything and focus on my exam; but everything comes to an end and soon I was plunged straight back into total despair.

I drove home quickly, in silence, ignoring all memories of him and of us. Places that we had been that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb, where if I looked for too long I could almost see my memory play out like a movie in front of me.

I scrambled out of my car and raced to my bedroom when I got home; my usual routine for avoiding everyone.

I sat in the chair by my window, thinking. What should I do now?

Hours passed, each one was agony. The hole in my chest was throbbing.

Suddenly I realised what I would have to do, the only thing that could perhaps make me normal again. I tossed the idea around for a while until I had made up my mind.

I would leave Seattle, leave our memories, our friends, him. I would let things go back to the way they were before I showed up and messed things up for them.

I would go to Florida, Renee would be thrilled. Maybe there, somewhere completely different to here would help me put myself back together again.

To some degree anyway, I never would be completely whole again.

In her last email Renee suggested I go and visit her, I knew Alice and Rose where letting her know what was going on. That was good. I'd surprise her, I would book a flight tonight, I decided, leave in a few days.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_When I got home the others were still there, I didn't stop to greet them. I needed to solace of my room to figure out what had dawned on me today and to figure out how to fix it._

**Bella's Point of View**

The next morning I began packing my suitcase after booking a flight for tomorrow. While I was packing I tried to figure out how I would tell Rose and Alice, they would be hurt, I just hoped they'd understand and let me go.

I needed this, didn't I?

Once I was done I set my suitcase near the door with my carry-on bag on top.

I headed downstairs, to our living room and sat on the sofa to wait. It felt unfamiliar down here now; it had been so long since I'd spent any time at all down here.

Around dinner time they showed up.

"Hey Bells" they greeted me.

"Hi" I said back in my emotionless tone.

"How was your day?" Alice asked sitting down next to me.

"Okay" I replied, I took a deep breath, "I uh need to tell you guys something" I said in a dead voice.

"Sure babe anything" Rose replied softly sitting down on my other side.

"I uh" I faltered.

"Sweetie you can tell us anything" Alice told me grabbing my hand, "Anything, we won't judge, we'd understand."

I bit my lip, "I'm going to Florida" I said quietly staring at the floor.

"To visit?" Rose asked.

I shook my head.

"Oh Bella" Alice said, I looked up to see her eyes full of tears.

"I'm sorry" I told them both, "But I can't be here, near him. It's destroying me" I whispered.

"When do you leave?" Alice asked, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Tomorrow" I choked.

"We'll miss you so much" Rose said her voice cracking.

"I'll miss you too" I whispered.

_**Rose's Point of View**_

_Late that night, after Bella had gone to bed, Emmett and Jasper came over at our insistence. We had to tell them about Bella._

"_So what's wrong?" Jasper asked, looking at Alice then me then back again. _

"_Bella" Alice said simply._

_They looked confused._

"_She's leaving" I told them, my eyes filling with tears._

"_She's what?" Emmett asked, shocked._

"_For Florida, tomorrow" I replied._

"_Fuck" Jasper exhaled putting his arm around Alice._

_I nodded, "Fuck is right."_

"_Babe we have to tell Edward" Emmett said suddenly turning to face me. "He needs to know, if he wants to fix this he's got no time left anymore."_

"_I know" I nodded._

"_C'mon, we have to tell him now" Jasper piped up._

_We all hurried next door, "I'll go get him" Emmett offered sprinting up the stairs._

"_Fuck" we heard Emmett yell._

_He ran back downstairs, "He's not here, what the hell do we do now?" he asked._

"_We wait and hope he gets home in time" I replied._

**Bella's Point of View**

I was leaving today, going to Florida, I was hoping I'd feel some relief at the thought of this; but I didn't.

That was okay, I guessed, maybe when I got there it would set in.

Rose, Alice, Em and Jazz had all told me they would drop me off today, so with Emmett's help I lugged my bag downstairs and put it in the trunk of Jasper's car.

I turned around slowly and walked back into the house. I would miss this place, so much. It was home now, or at least it was.

I walked slowly through the house, savouring it for the last time. When I reached my room, my eyes began to well up with tears. It looked different somehow, without all of my personal items.

I headed back downstairs unable to be in there anymore. They were all waiting in the living room for me.

"Are you sure about this?" Rose asked me seriously.

I nodded.

We both began to cry, followed by Alice.

"We'll miss you, so much" Alice sobbed clinging to me.

"I'll miss you too" I choked.

"Little sis" Emmett said coming over and giving me a bear hug. "It won't be the same without you" he told me, I could see tears in his eyes. Who'd have ever thought it?

"Bells, you take care of yourself and don't be a stranger" Jasper begged.

"I won't" I sobbed hugging him back.

"I spose we should go then" Emmett said, uttering the words no one wanted to hear.

I nodded once and with my arms linked with my two best girlfriends headed for the car.


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, Edward finally realised and wants Bella back, hooray! **

**Oh and a big shout out to my amazing reviewers, thanks for taking the time to read and review my wee story, I'm glad you like it all so much. I will thank you all by name in my next A/N. So tell me who's your fav character? Anything you'd like to see me put it the story to make it that little bit better? Let me know, I'm open to suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Twilight, but I don't**

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_When I woke up in the morning I headed downstairs, there was no sign of Emmett of Jasper. Fuck, this is typical, whenever I want peace and quiet they of course are always around, annoying the hell out of me and then when I need them just this once they aren't even here._

_Double fuck._

_I pulled my phone out of my pocket and text Emmett._

_Where the fuck are you? Need to talk to you, it's important – E_

_I got a message back within seconds._

_**On my way 2 the airport, where were U last night? Had something important 2 tell you but it's kind of too late now… - Em**_

_I was more than a little confused by this text, so I told him so._

_Why are you going to the airport? – E_

_**Bro, I really wanted 2 tell u this in person but Bella's leaving – Em**_

_Bella's what? I read the text again. WHAT? _

_She can't leave; I need to talk to her Em - E_

_**Then Ed this your last chance, if u leave now u might just make it. I'll get Rose n Al to stall her – Em**_

_I'm on my way – E_

_I raced out the door and jumped in my Volvo and sped towards the airport. I had to make it; it was not an option to not make it._

_Luckily for me fate was obviously being kind to me, no traffic jams and no red lights. I made it to the airport and pulled into the first car park I found. Slamming the door behind me I ran…_

**Bella's Point of View**

We all piled into Jasper's car, me with a heavy heart. Part of me had been hoping Edward would have come to say goodbye, to stop me. But then I realised he probably didn't even know, I had after all asked them not to, begged even.

Jasper started the engine and took off down the drive. I looked back just once, for the last time, tears welling in my eyes.

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_I ran, shoving my way through crowds desperately searching for her, my Bella. I stopped briefly, only once, to check the departure board. Shit she would be checking in soon and then boarding._

_And so I ran._

_Finally I reached the domestic gate and sure enough Alice and Rose must have stalled her, I made a quick mental note to buy them flowers or something. I owed them big time if this worked out the way I hoped it would._

_Soon I was close enough to call out to her without shouting like a deranged idiot._

"_Bella!"_

_Emmett, Jazz, Rose and Alice all spun around to stare at me, in total shock, except Emmett who looked relieved._

_Finally she looked up at me._

"_Bella" I choked out, "Please baby don't leave" I said striding towards her._

_She stood and stared at me, she looked so sad, so hurt, so tired, just so broken. I had done this._

_I didn't care who was listening or watching, I had to tell her how I felt. "I have been such an idiot Bella; I should have believed you, listened to you. I let you down and I hurt you badly and I'm so sorry. Please talk to me, let me fix this. I need you, I can't breathe without you. You mean everything to me and it kills me to know I hurt you. Please Bella" I begged my voice cracking. _

"_I love you" I continued, staring deep into her eyes, "More than anything, you are my life, my world. Bella I love you." Finally I reached her; I was standing right in front of her._

_She didn't say anything; she just stood and stared at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. _

_I reached out to touch her and she didn't stop me._

_I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her._

**Bella's Point of View**

He finally drew back, resting his forehead on mine.

"Tell me you'll stay, I'll do anything to make it up to you Bella. Even if it takes me the rest of our lives, I'll make it up to you" he whispered.

I pulled back and looked into his emerald green eyes; they were sad, desperate and pleading.

I nodded.

He froze, "You You'll…."

I nodded again and a brilliant smile broke out on his face, "I love you" he said again, not breaking my gaze.

"I love you too" I whispered.

Finally, finally I felt like I could breathe, for the first time in weeks. I closed my eyes and savoured the feeling of him holding me so tightly.

I knew we had a lot to talk about, but right now I just wanted to be close to him and for him to never let me go.

The hole in my chest was gone, completely; it felt like it was never even there in the first place. I felt so whole, no longer broken, like myself again.

"Baby I missed you" he whispered in my ear, so softly, "So damn much."

"I missed you too" I whispered back my voice cracking a little.

"I'm never going to let you go my Bella" he whispered, "Never."


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's note: As promised here is a shout out to my super amazing reviewers:**

**MrsGabiCullen, Cracker679, RozieIvashkov, Edward'sBella21 and Paige h. I really appreciate your regular and lovely reviews! Keep em coming.**

**The gang gets a whole lotta good news this chapter, so I hope you like it? Let me know, I love to hear your thoughts my fellow little fanpires =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Twilight, sigh**

We pulled apart after an immeasurable amount of time to see the faces of our friends beaming at us along with quite a few strangers.

"I guess this means you're staying then?" Emmett asked, hopeful.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be" I told them.

Alice threw herself at me and Edward clearly delighted, soon after Rose joined in followed by Jasper and Emmett, who announced loudly "group hug!"

Edward then gently took my hand in his and together, with our friends we walked out of the terminal and to the car park.

"Bella, can I drive you home?" Edward asked me.

I nodded, smiling making him smile too. Seeing him, smiling like that made my heart soar.

He opened the passenger door for me and helped me into the Volvo before loading my bags into the trunk.

Edward claimed my hand again once he had joined my in the car. We didn't talk much on the ride back, but when we arrived home he asked if I would come over and talk.

I agreed so after he put my bags in the hallway of my place he led me over to his and up to his room, so we could have some privacy.

He sat on his bed and I sat beside him. We talked for hours, going over what had happened, how it happened. We dissected every little moment over the past couple of months.

"Bella" he said seriously after we had talked it all through, "I promise you that for as long as we live I will never ever doubt you, I am so sorry baby and I will make it up to you, I'll prove it to you."

I nodded; I didn't doubt him or a single word he said.

That night I fell asleep in his arms, feeling safe, happy and loved.

_The next day_

I went home for a while, since I knew that Alice and Rose would be dying to know what was going on, where Edward and I stood now. Edward smiled when I told him they would probably hunt us down and torture it out of them if I didn't fill them in.

"You know what, I think Alice has started to rub off on Jasper because he'd probably do the same" he said with a chuckle. Oh how I'd missed the sound of his laugh.

"And as much as Em would never admit it, he's just as bad."

I laughed.

That made him smile, "You have no idea how happy you laughing makes me my love" he told me reaching out to touch my cheek.

I leaned into him, soaking up his warmth.

"Don't take too long" he said.

"I won't" I told him.

"Good because I have a lot of making up to you to do, starting now" he told me kissing me softly.

I headed next door and quickly showered and changed before going down to the kitchen where Alice and Rose were now waiting. They must have gotten up since I'd arrived home.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked concerned.

I nodded a wide smile breaking out on my face, "I'm better than okay."

Alice squealed, "Tell us, tell us!"

"We worked things out" I told them, Alice's excitement was very catching, "We are going to be just fine, better than fine" I half squealed.

"Oh Bells we are so happy for you!" Rose exclaimed happily, reaching out to hug me.

After a chat with the girls, I headed back to Edward's eager to make up for lost time. Alice had said they were all going to stay at our place tonight to give us more time alone.

I packed an overnight bag, which seemed a little silly since I live right next door to him. But my reasoning was I didn't want to leave his side for another minute.

He was waiting for me, in the living room. He jumped up when I walked in and wrapped his arms around me.

"I missed you" he murmured against my neck.

"I missed you too" I replied enjoying the sensation of being in his arms once again.

We spent the afternoon trying to watch movies but really just making out and enjoying each other's company. Not that I was complaining about that, at all.

_Five weeks later_

Things were back to normal now, Edward and I were happier than ever together, still savouring the time we spent together, remembering what it was like to be apart.

We were all sitting in our living room, waiting for the mail. Today our results arrived, today we would find out if we were graduating in two weeks' time.

Being ever confident in their only child both Renee and Charlie had made plans to be at my graduation, with Phil and Sue by their respective sides.

Renee was beyond thrilled, one because I was graduating, which she had according to Phil been bragging about to anyone that would listen and two because I was back together with Edward.

She loved Edward.

"Mails here!" Alice screeched running into the room waving a bunch of envelopes at us.

"Gimme!" Rose yelled grabbing her envelope.

"Okay on three we all open our envelopes" Jasper instructed.

We all nodded, getting in position.

"One, two, three!" he yelled as we all tore into our envelopes.

"Oh I can't look" Alice squealed peeking through her fingers at the letter inside. "Oh oooo I passed!" she shrieked jumping up and down with excitement.

"Jazz?" she asked.

He grinned and nodded, while Alice shrieked some more.

"I passed too!" Rose piped up, clearly thrilled.

"And me" Edward beamed.

"Bella?" Alice asked, impatient.

"I did too!" I squealed.

"Oh shit I have to call Emmett" Rose announced jumping up and grabbing the phone.

We celebrated that night, dinner at a restaurant and far too many drinks in the best company anyone could ever ask for.


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's note: Alrighty, it seems like my writers block has well and truly disappeared so with any luck I should be able to finish this story in the next week or so! (That is if I can keep up with the daily updates).**

**If you're in the fan fic neighbourhood don't forget to check out my other little story With You in My Head.**

**Also I am still on the lookout for a Beta to give me a hand with grammar and spelling but also perhaps some story help.**

**Disclaimer: **

The next day Alice insisted that we go shopping for outfits to wear to our graduation, she reasoned that this was a big milestone in our lives and that we should be dressed accordingly.

Rose and I agreed that yes on this occasion she was absolutely right and besides there were going to be a lot of pictures taken that day, mostly by Renee and I'd be damned if I didn't want to look my best.

Edward, Emmett and Jasper flat out refused to join is on our shopping expedition however.

"There's no way I'm going to let that little pixie take me shopping ever again" Emmett pouted when Rose pitched the idea to him.

"Why not?" and equally pouty Alice demanded with her arms crossed.

Emmett narrowed his eyes at her, "You made me try on a pink shirt!" he cried with disgust. "Emmett Cullen does not wear pink" he added.

Edward, Rose, Jasper and I tried to hold back our snickers.

"For the record it looked good, pink is very in fashion for men" Alice informed him, standing her ground.

Emmett huffed, clearly not able to think of a comeback for that one.

"He did kind of look like a giant marshmallow" Jasper said suddenly, causing us all to snort with laughter.

Alice glared at him for a second before breaking out into giggles herself.

Plans were made to spend Saturday shopping and then a barbeque with the boys later.

We arrived at the mall bright and early and got straight to work. We traipsed from shop to shop in search of the 'perfect' dresses. I found mine two hours into the trip in a little boutique I always had liked.

It was navy blue with thin straps, the bodice itself was fitted and embroidered with a slightly shimmery thread and the bottom was a tulip shape with draping. It came with a belt in brighter shade of blue.

Next we found Rose's dress about half an hour later; it was a cap sleeved dress in a dusky red shade that suited her perfectly.

We stopped for lunch and then got back to the search, by now Alice was starting to have a meltdown. She had tried on every different style of dress ever created in every fabric and colour of the rainbow.

There had been printed dresses, single colour dresses, block colours, random patterns, metallic, sequinned, ruffles and most recently feathers.

Rose ordered her into the dressing room with another arm load to try while we flopped down on a sofa in the store to catch our breaths.

My phone chimed indicating a new message.

_**Hey beautiful, how's shopping going? Missing you like crazy – E**_

I smiled to myself while typing my reply.

_Hey you, it's going. Rose and I have dresses, Alice does not. She is now in meltdown mode. Missing you heaps too – B_

My phone then rang; _Edward Cullen is calling_ the screen told me.

"Hey" I greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hi gorgeous" he replied, making me melt. "So Alice is having a meltdown?" he asked.

"Yes" I groaned into my phone.

"What scale are we talking here?" Edward asked just as Alice screeched from her dressing room.

"These are all wrong, wrong and wrong" she screeched, luckily there were no other customers in the store.

"This is ridiculous" Rose moaned beside me, "Let's just leave her here, she won't even notice."

"Does that answer your question?" I asked Edward.

"Loud and clear, do you want me to send Jasper there to calm her down?" he asked me.

"I don't think even he could help right now" I told Edward as Alice came storming out of the dressing room and began scoping the store again for the 'perfect dress'.

"Or I could come and save you?" he replied, I could hear his smirk through the phone.

"Tempting" I told him, and it was, very very tempting. "But Rose would kill me for leaving her here alone."

Rose turned to glare at me, "Oh no missy you're staying right here with me" she commanded.

Edward chuckled, "I guess I'll see you later then love."

"If I make it out of here alive" I joked.

After saying our goodbyes we dragged Alice out of the store and off to one we had been to earlier in the day. I was hoping like hell that a new dress she deemed perfect would magically have appeared.

We ordered her into the dressing room and returned with armfuls of dresses.

"No" she soon announced passing a dress over the top of the door. "No, too slutty, just yuck, I'm not even commenting on that one and not in a million years" she told us throwing more dresses at us.

"Oooo!" she squealed suddenly.

I glanced at Rose who looked hopeful.

"I swear if this one isn't right she can wear a damn paper bag to graduation" she muttered to me.

I suppressed a giggle and called out to Alice "is that a good oooo?"

She flung the curtain open, "What do you think?" she asked doing a little twirl for us.

"Oh you have to get that Alice" Rose nodded approvingly.

"It looks great" I told her enthusiastically.

"I'll take it then" she said beaming.

It was an asymmetric fold over scoop necked dress with spaghetti straps, made of chiffon and satin. It was predominately black with a cream pattern over it.

"Thank fuck" Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

Graduation arrived a week later in a flurry of family visits. Sure enough there were plenty of pictures taken by Renee and all the other parents who kept repeating to us all weekend how proud they were of us all.

And then before I could blink we were out in the real world, applying for jobs, starting careers. It made us feel oh so grown up.

Rose and Alice pulled together all of the designs they had created over the years and began to put together their own label with the help of so people in the fashion business. They also managed to find the perfect location for their first ever boutique store

Their label was Twilight was going to be a total hit, I could tell already.

Jasper had gotten a job as a history teacher at a local high school and after talking to him and the gang about it in great lengths I had decided to apply for the English teaching position at the very same school.

Which I am very pleased to say I got!

Edward had joined an architectural design company as their chief architect after they were so amazed by his plans and designs they just had to have him join their company.

Things were so different now, not being in college and all that. But somehow nothing had changed. 


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's note: So my lovelies how are you all doing? Drop me a line and let me know what you're thinking about my story…. The chapters are pretty much writing themselves these days so daily updates will be definitely happening for a while longer.**

**Things in the story are going to be jumping ahead a little from now on since I have big plans for the remaining chapters!**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Twilight and never will *sigh***

The months raced by as we settled into our new jobs and routines. It was definitely nice for me having Jasper there, working just down the hall. We were able to support each other in the kind of way only best friends could.

Luckily for me and Jasper too for that matter, we seemed to get the best pupils in our classes. Something I was very grateful for after hearing some of the horror stories from other teachers.

The end of the year rushed by us and Edward and I celebrated our first anniversary then we spent Thanksgiving in Florida and Christmas in Port Angeles with all of our families there.

Sometime in March it was Emmett and Rose's second anniversary, they had gone away for the weekend and now it was Sunday night. Alice, Jazz, Edward and I were all watching a movie at the guys place when suddenly we heard Emmett's car pull up and the sound of footsteps hurrying into the house.

"Oh good your all here!" Rose said excitedly.

Something was up that much was clear, Rose looked flushed and excited and Emmett was beaming from ear to ear.

I glanced at Edward who shrugged; clearly he didn't have a clue as to what was going on then.

"We have some news" Rose announced beaming.

Emmett cleared his throat and said "I asked Rose to marry me."

I gasped, as did Alice, who then began to squeal.

"I said yes!" Rose shrieked, "I'm going to be Rosalie Cullen!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Alice squealed launching herself at Rose.

Edward got up and hugged his brother, grinning widely, "Congratulations Em" he said, "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks little bro" he replied ruffling Edward's hair.

There were hugs all round and then Alice squealed the inevitable. "Oh Rosie you have to let me plan your wedding!"

Rose beamed at her and me, "I was kind of counting on that, since you will both be my maids of honour"

That started another round of hugs and a few tears while the guys looked on amused.

"By the way" Emmett said, "You both are my groomsmen."

Jasper and Edward looked thrilled.

The very next day wedding plans were already in full swing, magazines dominated every surface in the living and dining areas.

"I see Alice has settled into her new role nicely then?" Edward commented amused, picking up a magazine and waving it at me.

"Oh don't you know it" I replied, "And by the way if you mention any aspect of it to her you'll probably get roped into doing something girly that you don't want to do."

He laughed, "Crazy little pixie" he said affectionately.

Rose and Emmett, well actually Rose and Alice had decided it would be a summer wedding, so July 27th, one week after Alice's birthday Rose and Em would be getting married.

They had picked out a country club on the outskirts of Seattle, with amazingly beautiful gardens and a grand hall perfect for a wedding.

One Saturday afternoon we were dress shopping, in a very expensive wedding boutique I should add when we found Rose's perfect dress.

"This is it!" she announced excitedly from behind the dressing room curtain.

"What's it?" I asked a little dazed. We had been in here for hours and there had been a lot of dresses.

"Oh!" I squeaked realising what she meant, "I'll get Alice" I told her rushing out into the shop where Alice was frantically looking through dress books with the sales girl for other options for Rose.

"Alice she's found it" I told her tapping her on the shoulder.

Alice bolted towards the dressing room suddenly, towing me behind her.

"Rosie show us!" she squealed excitedly.

Rose drew the curtain back and stepped out.

Alice clapped her hand to her mouth, astonished.

"Rose, its perfect" I told her, tears welling in my eyes, "You look beautiful!"

"You think so?" she asked.

"Utterly perfect" Alice chimed in, "Emmett is going to flip" she grinned.

"How was shopping?" Edward asked me when I arrived at his place later that day.

"Mmm good" I replied breathing in his delicious scent as he held me.

He chuckled.

"Rose found it" I told him still snuggling.

"Shit no not it?" he asked teasing.

I pulled away and slapped him lightly, "You idiot, I meant she found her dress, the dress" I repeated.

"She did?" he asked smiling.

"She most certainly did" I replied smiling back. "Promise you won't tell Emmett?"

"Scouts honour" he replied saluting me.

"She is going to look beautiful" I told him pleased he'd promised.

"I'm sure she will my love, but no one will ever be as beautiful as you" he said, kissing me.

"Thanks Mr Smooth" I giggled kissing him back.

We were soon interrupted by Jasper, Alice and Rose who joined us in the living room.

"Where's Emmett?" Rose asked noticing her fiancé wasn't in the room.

Edward shrugged, "He's around here somewhere" he replied.

A loud shout from the general vicinity of the stairs indicated where he was. Soon his bounding footsteps could be heard.

"You'll never guess what I just found" Emmett said, looking as excited as a child on Christmas morning.

"Probably not" Rose replied eyeing him suspiciously as he appeared to be hiding something behind his back.

"It's Steve!" he announced.

"What the F are you talking about?" Jasper asked not taking his eyes off the TV screen

"Steve" he repeated impatiently, "The monkey I got in Las Vegas." He whipped the toy out from behind his back and waved it at us.

I swear it looked even uglier than the first time I laid eyes on it.

"It's so weird, I found him shoved in a box at the back of my closet, wonder how he got there?" he asked, not really directing the question at anyone in particular.

I glanced at Rose who smirked at me before answering Emmett, "No idea babe."

"Ah well it doesn't matter now" he said grinning, "I've found him!"

"Oh yay" Rose muttered sarcastically.

I sniggered at her.

"He could be in our wedding party" Emmett told Rose.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, "No freaking way Emmett Cullen."

"Ha! Gotcha!" he replied looking pleased with himself.


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's note: Hope you all enjoy this chapter, there are some happy tears and it's a little bit fluffy. Read and then tell me your thoughts =)**

**Disclaimer: You all know the drill, I don't own Twilight, S Meyer does.**

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_Emmett and Rose's wedding was just around the corner now and the excitement was definitely reaching an all-time high._

_My mother was absolutely ecstatic at the thought of one of her sons finally taking that next step in life and getting married._

_I'd be lying if I said it hadn't got me thinking about Bella and I, since the day I first laid eyes on her I'd known she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. _

_I wondered if she wanted that too, marriage and a family, the whole nine yards. _

_I felt as though it was still too early for that though, plus I wanted my big brother to have his moment in the spotlight._

_So for now I'd just wait, enjoy just being with her._

_Besides right now I had to start concentrating on organising some kind of bachelor party for Emmett._

"_Hey Ed man" Jasper said interrupting my train of thought as he stood in the doorway of my room._

"_Hey Jazz" I replied, "What's up?"_

_He looked nervous, kind of twitchy. "Uh can I talk to you about something important?"_

"_Sure man" I replied as he walked in and closed the door._

_He continued to just stand there, being all fidgety, "Alright spit it out" I told him._

_Jasper took a deep breath, "Okay so I just wanted to run this by you before I go and talk to Em, I wanna know what you think and if you think he'll be okay with it."_

"_Okay?" I asked running my hand through my hair, "You're going to have to back up a few steps though man, I have no idea what you're talking about."_

"_Oh yeah right" he said with a nervous laugh. "I want to uh ask Alice to marry me, at the wedding."_

_"Shit Jasper, that's awesome!" I told him grinning._

"_You think so?" he asked worriedly._

"_Alice is going to freak" I said._

"_But what about Em and Rose do you think they'll mind?" Jasper asked nervously._

"_No way Jazz, they'll be thrilled for you both" I replied, and they would be._

"_I hope so; I don't want to steal their thunder."_

"_No way will they think that" I told him, "So are you just going to ask Em?"_

"_Well yeah I was kind of planning on just telling Em, I mean if I tell Rose too then it's only Bells and Alice that don't know and ya know?" he said._

"_Yeah I get it, go talk to Em now; he will be so excited for you."_

**Bella's Point of View**

The lead up to the wedding was hectic, Rose and Emmett bought their dream house a few suburbs away from our current homes. We all pitched in and helped them redecorate and move in so when they got back from their honeymoon they could start their new life together.

It was so strange having Rose move out and I would miss having her around all the time, but at the same time I was so happy for her. She was on cloud nine right now, planning hers and Emmett's future together.

It certainly made me think ahead to what the future might hold for Edward and me.

After the bachelor and bachelorette parties had been and gone there were only a few days left for all of the final touches to be made.

"I still can't believe you're getting married" Alice sighed happily at Rose and our final dress fitting.

"Me either, it's so surreal" Rose replied as the dress maker worked her way around her dress tucking and pinning.

"Who do you think will be next?" Alice asked suddenly, "Edward and you or me and Jazz?"

"Uh" I replied. What did I think? Part of me was hoping it would be Alice and Jasper, I didn't quite feel ready for such a monumental leap forward in mine and Edward's relationship yet. Then the other part of me got all warm and fuzzy thinking about Edward and I getting married.

"I have no idea Alice" I told her, "You're the one who can see the future, what do you reckon?" I teased.

"Hmmmm" she said thinking for a minute, "I'm not sure either" she admitted as the dressmaker began to check over her dress too.

The dresses Rose had picked out for us to wear were without a doubt beautiful. Since red was her favourite colour she had gone for halter dresses made from dusky red silk.

Rose herself looked like a vision in Vera Wang, her dress had a fitted bodice embroidered with little beads and then at the waist it tapered out a little with some tulle, draping and silk flowers.

Emmett was going to be speechless.

_Wedding Day!_

The day had finally arrived, the day when Rosalie Hale would become Rosalie Cullen. I woke early to sunshine streaming through the curtains of Edward and my room at the country club's hotel.

I glanced at the clock and realised Alice and Rose would be expecting me in little over an hour for a champagne breakfast with all of the mothers and female relatives

As I began to roll out of bed to very strong hands grasped my waist.

"And where do you think you're going?" Edward's voice breathed in my ear.

"Apparently nowhere" I breathed back rolling over to face him.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear" he replied with a glorious smile, "I'm sure they can spare you for a while longer so I can say good morning to you properly."

"Oh well in that case" I replied cheekily rolling on top of him causing him to growl.

An hour later after Edward had finished saying good morning to me, thoroughly, I had showered and dressed and was on my way down to meet the girls for breakfast.

We had fun, chatting about the day ahead drinking several glasses of champagne with strawberries a piece, before it was time to go and get the bride ready for her big day.

Alice was in charge of hair and makeup while I laid out our dresses, accessories and shoes ready for us. I was glad we had spent the previous day at the spa, relaxing by getting facials, massages and mani pedis. It gave us a few less things to worry about.

Once Rose was ready we left her alone to have some time with her mother and then with Esme.

Then it was out turn to have our moment with Rose, we re-entered the room to find the bride just as calm and collected as we'd left her.

"Look what Esme gave me" she said showing us a beautiful pair of diamond and ruby hair slides. "They were her mother's and she wanted me to have them."

"Wow Rose they are so pretty!" Alice chirped taking a closer look.

"They match your colour scheme" I added flashing her a grin.

"I can't believe you're getting married" Alice squealed suddenly, happy tears welling in her eyes.

"Neither can I" admitted Rose, "But I've never been so sure of anything in my life."

Tears began to well in my eyes too, "You and Emmett are just perfect for each other, I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks Bells" she replied giving me a happy but watery smile.

"Made for each other" Alice added dabbing at her eyes, "You look so gorgeous Rose."

"Stunningly beautiful" I told her, "Emmett is going to be blown away."

Rose beamed, tears starting to spill over.

"Oh Rosie!" cried Alice starting to cry too which of course set me off.

We stood there crying happy tears and hugging for few minutes before Alice dabbing her tears away said "C'mon Mrs Cullen let's go get you hitched!"


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's note: Here's the wedding part two, will Jasper propose to Alice as planned? And more to the point what will she say?**

**Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Twilight.**

The ceremony was beautiful, Emmett was so stunned at the sight of his gorgeous bride he actually had tears in his eyes.

Their vows were so romantic but so very them and we all cheered when the celebrant announced he could kiss the bride. He swept her into his arms and dipped her down giving her a passionate kiss.

We were now all seated at the head table at the reception after having professional photos taken, waiting for the speeches to begin.

Rose's parents went first, saying how proud they were of their beautiful daughter followed by Carlisle and Esme.

Edward was up next, then Alice and I on the joint speech we had written and finally Jasper.

Edward clinked his knife on his glass before standing up and beaming at the happy couple.

"I remember when Emmett first met Rose back in college; he came to me one afternoon with this ridiculous smile on his face telling me and Jasper that he had just met the girl he was going to marry someday."

"Of course we thought he was being crazy, but he was adamant that she was the one for him. And then when we met you for the first time Rose, we could see he was right. It was like you were made for each other, destined to be together."

"Emmett I am thrilled you found the girl of your dreams, I know how good that feeling is and I couldn't be happier that you have made Rose your wife. I know you will honour and respect her just as you do with everyone that means something to you."

"Rose you became like a sister to me over the past two years, always there when anyone of us needed you. So I was thrilled when Emmett announced he had asked you to marry him and that you had said yes. I am so happy and proud of both of you; Rose you look beautiful today, I hope tonight is everything you ever dreamed of."

"Welcome to the Cullen family Rose. May you both have a long and happy life together."

Rose mouthed thank you at Edward tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.

I took a deep breath and stood up next to Alice.

"I met Rose in high school and we became instant best friends. You have always been like a sister to me Rose, always there for me, so loving and protective. I too remember when you first met the charming Emmett Cullen; you came to me saying you had just met the man of your dreams but that he would have to work hard to earn your affection" Alice said smiling.

We all laughed including Rose and Emmett who shared a loving look.

"You certainly weren't going to make things easy for him, but he stuck by you clearly smitten. When you told me you were getting married I was so incredibly happy for you both. As Edward said you are a match made in heaven, balancing each other out perfectly. I know you will both treat each other with love and respect and I wish you a happy and beautiful life together. Oh and I can't wait to be an auntie! Any children of yours are going to be gorgeous!" she finished dabbing at the tears threatening to fall.

I took another deep breath, nervous.

"I met both Rose and Alice when I moved back to Forks for my final two years of high school. They immediately took me under their wings and have stuck by me ever since. Rose you are like the sister I never had and I will forever be eternally grateful for your support and protection through some of the best and worst times in my life."

"Emmett, thank you too for being the best big brother a girl could ever ask for, you were also there during some of the darkest times of my life and I will also be forever thankful that I am blessed with your presence in my life."

Edward squeezed my hand and smiled up at me.

"I hope that you both have a wonderful life together, I know how much you love each other and how lucky you feel to have each other. Savour tonight and I hope it is everything you could ever hope for. Thank you for letting me be a part of it all. I love you both from the bottom of my heart."

I sat down as everyone clapped just as they had after the other speeches.

"You did amazingly Bella" Edward whispered.

Just then a very nervous Jasper stood up and cleared his throat.

"Congratulations to both of you Emmett and Rose. I am so glad that my crazy cousin found the woman that completes him and that he wants to spend the rest of his days with. You are two of my best friends in the entire world and I am so grateful to be here today to celebrate with you both" he said still looking nervous. I wondered what was up with that. He was normally more confident than this after a few drinks.

"I know that you will both have a long and bright future together, as the other before me have said, you were certainly made for each other just like my beautiful Alice was made for me." He said turning to look down at a beaming Alice.

He looked at Emmett who gave him a huge thumbs up and a wide smile. I looked at Edward confused; he gave me a knowing smile and winked.

"Alice" Jasper said tenderly reaching out to grab her hand and pull him up to stand beside of him. "Just like Rose and Emmett, from the moment I first met you I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

She beamed at him, but the confusion was evident in her eyes.

"Mary Alice Brandon, I want to spend forever with you" Jasper continued kneeling down on one knee.

There was a collective gasp around the room and Jasper pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring.

"Will you do me the extraordinary honour of becoming my wife?" he asked looking up at a completely surprised Alice.


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's note: Wow, I can't believe I have had over 100 reviews for This Time is Ours. So exciting! Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to let me know what you think of my story, keep them coming!**

**Now, on to Alice's answer and some more drama as promised.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know this by now, I am not Stephenie Meyer and no I do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. I do have copies of the books though =)**

"Oh Jasper!" Alice gasped looking from his face to the ring and back again. "Yes! Yes of course I'll marry you!" she squealed.

Jasper's face broke into an exultant smile as he slid the ring onto Alice's finger before she threw himself into his arms.

The room broke out into cheers and whistles.

"Well it seems like there is another congratulations in order!" Emmett boomed standing up with his glass in hand, "Congratulations Allie and Jazz!"

"Did you know about this?" I asked Edward happy tears welling up in my eyes once more.

He nodded a huge smile on his face.

"Bells I'm getting married!" Alice shrieked launching herself at me. "Can you believe it?" she squealed.

"You are little pixie" I squealed back hugging her tightly. "You and Jasper are perfect together!"

"We are aren't we?" she replied glancing over at Jasper who was in the middle of a 'man hug' with Emmett, the look she gave him was pure adoration and love.

"You were made for each other" I said beaming at her.

After congratulations, drinks and Rose and Emmett's first dance, we all hit the dance floor together.

"Oh I love this song" Alice told us when Ours by the Bravery came over the speakers. "It always reminds me of us, every time I listen to it."

"Well then, this is our song" Rose replied with a smile.

We all agreed, it definitely our song.

_After tonight  
who knows where we'll be tomorrow  
what if we're never here again?_

After tonight  
this will be a lifetime ago  
so let's stay up until the sky bleeds red.

And we'll stop stop stop the world from moving  
stop stop stop the clocks from turning  
stop this night from fading away

This time is ours  
if I could hold this moment in my hands  
I'd stop the world from moving  
I'd stop the clocks from turning

This time is ours  
inside a frozen memory of us  
and we are motionless, motionless

Gone like a dream that I have just awoken from  
fading away, just out of reach  
and we are here, but I already miss you  
even as you're lying next to me

And we'll stop stop stop the world from moving  
stop stop stop the clocks from turning  
stop this night from fading away

This time is ours  
if I could hold this moment in my hands  
I'd stop the world from moving  
I'd stop the clocks from turning

_This time is ours  
inside a frozen memory of us  
and we are motionless, motionless_

"We have to promise that no matter what happens or where we end up that we will always be friends" Alice said suddenly.

"Forever and always" I replied putting my arm around her.

_A few weeks later_

It had been a few weeks now since Emmett and Rose's big day, they had returned from their honeymoon looking more in love than ever before and had had a great time in Italy.

Now plans for Alice's big day had begun and when I say big I mean it. Alice wanted a big white wedding with everything that comes with it. She insisted that she had to plan the whole thing herself with Rose and my help of course.

Since she had been planning her wedding day since she was about ten she knew exactly what she wanted. She and Jasper had set the date for March 10th, a spring wedding.

Alice had also decided, with Jasper's approval that they would get married in a gorgeous little church in the outer suburbs of Seattle with the reception being held in the grand ballroom of a very exclusive and expensive hotel down town.

Luckily for Jasper and I she didn't need a lot of help with the planning just yet since it was still eight months away. This was fantastic considering the new school year had just started and Jasper and I were completely run off our feet with lesson plans for the year ahead.

A few weeks into the first semester I was driving home on a wet, rainy Friday afternoon, with Jasper a few cars behind me. School had finished for the day and I was heading home to get ready to go out for dinner and drinks with the gang.

I noticed a car driving erratically behind me, probably just another person eager to get home after a long week at work I thought. The car was tailing me far too close for my liking; it was making me feel nervous and uneasy. It was hard enough to see through the sheets of rain without someone pressuring me to go faster.

Eventually they turned down a side street making me sigh in relief. I pulled up at a set of lights, patiently waiting for it to turn green. I spotted the car at the right hand side of the intersection; pulling up to an orange light.

I began to feel uneasy again, although I couldn't see the driver I could feel their eyes watching me. Feelings came bubbling to the surface that I had long supressed, how I had felt when I was being chased by the sadistic James, feeling so utterly terrified and helpless. I shuddered and fought to supress those hideous feelings.

Cut it out Bella, I scolded myself, you are being beyond ridiculous, James is dead and now you're being paranoid.

The light turned green and I took off carefully and slowly. I turned to look at the strange car once more and was horrified to see it speeding towards me.

I panicked, the car was coming straight for me, what the hell was the person doing? Didn't the driver see the red light?

There was no way I would be able to swerve out of the way, there was nowhere to go. The car was going to hit me; there was no avoiding it.

I froze, completely horrified at what was unfolding. Please, please, please let me somehow survive this I prayed as I braced myself for the impact.

The car slammed into mine, metal screeching as it buckled. _Edward I love you_ I whispered and that was the last thing I remembered, before my world went black.


	39. Chapter 39

**Author's note: Thank you all for reviewing my last chapter! Sorry for leaving you all hanging like that, I'm terrible I know!**

**I promise all will be revealed very soon, I promise. A few of you are on the right track with who the driver of the other car was! I'm impressed =)**

**As promised a super long chapter, with a chance to hear from Jasper for a change.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Twilight, sadly.**

_Jasper's Point of View_

_I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel of my car as I sang along to some old rock song on the stereo._

_Ah it was Friday and boy was I glad about that. It had been a very long and tiring week and I was looking forward to getting home to spend some time with my girl, well fiancé now and the gang._

_I grinned to myself; I still couldn't believe she said yes, I had to be the luckiest bastard to walk the face of the earth to find someone as amazing as my Alice._

_Keeping my eyes on the road and grinning to myself I noticed a car driving far too dangerously considering the wet weather. I frowned as I saw the non-descript grey four door tailing Bella's blue wagon far too closely._

_The driver began to get more and more erratic and just as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to report it to the police; it turned down a narrow side street._

_I sighed in relief; I hoped Bella wasn't freaking out too much. It was not, unfortunately, the first time someone had done something like that to her. My thoughts involuntarily drifted back to that hellish week when that sick bastard James had stalked her like she was some kind of prey and he the hunter._

_I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts, it was not a time I liked to relive and I sure as hell knew Bella didn't like to either._

_I braked slowly and pulled in behind the other cars stopped at the lights. I could see Bella's wagon six cars ahead._

_Humming along to a new tune on the stereo I put my foot lightly on the accelerator as the light finally turned green._

_I inched forward a little following the traffic when something caught my eye in my peripheral vision. _

_What the fuck? It was that damn car again speeding though the red light._

_I glanced ahead of me and felt sick to my stomach._

_It was going to plough straight into Bella in a matter of seconds. Fuck._

_Not knowing what the hell I could do to stop it I stamped hard on the brake and wrenched the handbrake on. I threw myself out of my car and into the pouring rain just as the grey car slammed hard and fast into the driver's side of Bella's wagon._

_The high keen on brakes and metal against metal pierced through the air. I watched helpless and absolutely horrified as Bella's car, t-boned by the grey car, hit a nearby lamp post and practically wrapped around it._

"_BELLA" I screamed running towards the twisted pile of metal that was trapping her._

_Other passers-by jumped out of their cars and ran behind me to the wreck._

"_BELLA" I yelled again as I reached the wreck. I could just see her, pinned inside. She wasn't conscious and there was blood, a lot of blood_

"_I'm calling 9-1-1" a man's voice said behind me, I turned around to see a man in his early thirties talking to me while waiting to be connected to the emergency line. He looked as white as a ghost._

"_Hurry" I demanded my tone full of urgency, "My best friend's in there."_

_He nodded, "I need an ambulance" I heard him almost yell into his phone before I turned back to Bella._

"_Bella, please honey, if you can hear me, if you're okay give me a sign" I begged. Nothing; I reached my hand into the wreck and somehow, miraculously found her hand, holding it in mine._

_Sirens began to wail and within seconds and ambulance, fire engine and several police cars where on the scene._

"_Sir, I need you to step away from her now" a voice instructed, in a sympathetic tone._

_I turned to see a crew of firemen and ambulance officers standing behind me. I stared at them struggling to keep the tears and vomit at bay. "She is my best friend's girlfriend; she is like a sister to me. Save her" I begged._

"_We will do everything in our power" they assured me._

_I stepped away, unable to tear my eyes away. I had to call Edward; I groaned tugging on my hair. This would kill him; it would kill all of them. Bella meant so much to all of us, what if she…..? _

_No, I can't think like that I told myself. Despite what had just happened, what I had just seen I needed to hold it together. They would need me, I would need to hold them together so I took a deep calming breath and called Edward._

_I had to be strong; they were going to need me more than ever I told myself as I waited for him to answer._

"_Hey Jazz" he greeted me, "What's up man?"_

"_Edward something's happened" I told him trying to find the courage to tell him._

"_What? What do you mean?" Edward asked I could hear the concern in his voice already._

"_There's been an accident, I need you all to get to Seattle Central Hospital, now" I told him._

"_Accident? Jazz what the hell are you talking about?" Edward demanded he was panicking now. I hated having to tell him this._

"_Ed its Bella, she was in a car accident" I said my voice shaking._

"_How bad is it? Is she okay? JASPER" he demanded._

"_Bad" I whispered in a strained tone, "Edward I'm so sorry but they won't tell me anything."_

_I heard a thump, "Edward are you there?" I asked frantically. I heard rustling and then Emmett's voice. _

"_Ed dropped the phone" Em told me, "Jasper what's going on?" he asked, he sounded worried._

"_Emmett, I need you to stay calm and focused. Get Edward and the girls and drive straight to the hospital. Bella has been in an accident and it's bad, I don't know what's going on, just get there" I told him in a clear voice._

"_Okay we're on our way" Emmett replied his voice shaky and then the line went dead._

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_I dropped my phone, horrified at what Jasper had just told me. Bella was in a car accident, hurt, he said it was bad. _

_This could not be happening, not to Bella, not to us. I couldn't lose her, not again._

_I ran my hands through my hair and tried to keep it together. Bella needed me now more than ever, I had to get to that hospital and I had to see her. She had to be okay._

_I stood up as Emmett hung up on Jasper. _

"_Edward, we're going to go and get Alice and Rose and head to the hospital" Emmett told me, he looked scared too._

_I nodded and we ran up the stairs of Alice and Bella's house and barged straight in to Alice's room where they were hanging out._

"_Emmett what the fuck?" Rose asked looking annoyed at his sudden arrival. Then she saw the expressions on our faces. "What's wrong?" she asked in a quiet tone._

"_There's been an accident, we need to leave for the hospital now" he demanded. "We're taking the jeep, I'm driving."_

"_Wait one second Emmett Cullen" Rose said standing up, "Tell me what's going on."_

"_Is it Jasper?" Alice piped up looking utterly terrified._

_They were all just standing there, like we had all the time in the world. There was no time. Bella was hurt and I wasn't there with her, I had to get to her._

_I completely lost it then._

"_WE NEED TO MOVE" I screamed at them, "BELLA'S HURT AND WE'RE JUST STANDING ROUND HERE TALKING."_

_They looked at me in total shock; Emmett's mouth was hanging open._

"_If you aren't going to come with me then I'm leaving now without you" I told them striding out of the room towards the front door._

"_We're coming" Emmett told me catching up. _

_We jumped in the jeep and Emmett sped off down the driveway, he navigated the traffic, slipping into gaps and going well over the speed limit._

_The whole drive to the hospital was torture at its worst. A million thoughts and images kept playing over and over in my head and the worst part was I had no idea what to expect when we got there._

_When Emmett finally pulled in the hospital parking lot I threw myself out of the car the second it stopped, I could hear the others running behind me._

_**Jasper's Point of View**_

_Instead of tailing the ambulance I left just before it, wanting to be there when it arrived so Bella wouldn't have to go through those doors alone. Also I needed to be there for Edward and the others._

_I drove with my hands shaking, struggling to grip the wheel. It all felt like some fuck awful nightmare that none of us were going to wake up from._

_When I reached the hospital I found a place to park, not giving a damn if I could actually park there or not and ran across the lot._

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_We found Jasper slumped in a seat in the waiting room for us._

"_Jasper where is she? Is she here" I demanded frantically._

_I could hear Alice, Rose and Emmett firing similar questions at him._

"_Female, MVA, unconscious with multiple injuries" I heard a voice say loudly. I spun around to see an ambulance officer telling a doctor who was striding across the room followed by another doctor and some nurses I presumed._

_The doors burst open, a gurney was being pushed surrounded by medics shouting medical terms I had heard my father use on occasion._

"_BELLA" I shouted making my way as fast as I could across the room._

_I knew it was her and the world as I knew it came crashing down around me._

"_IS SHE OKAY?" I demanded jostling my way to be by her side._

"_Sir" the doctor warned in an authoritive tone, "We need you to step away from…."_

"_NO! Bella" I cried when I saw her tiny form lying on the gurney. Her skin was more pale than normal and it seemed like every inch of her was covered in blood. Bella's beautiful hair was matted with blood and she was unconscious. She looked incredibly frail and utterly broken. _

"_Tell me what's wrong with her" I pleaded as Emmett grabbed my arm and pulled me away. They rushed through a set of doors and disappeared and I fell to pieces._

_**Emmett's Point of View**_

_I grabbed Edward's arm to drag him away from the gurney, I didn't want him to see Bella like this. I glanced at her as I tried to restrain him, I wished I hadn't. She was unconscious and there was so much blood._

_Edward was completely breaking down before my eyes, it killed me to see him like this. When I saw him after they had broken up I thought I saw him at his worst, devastated beyond words. But I was wrong, this was destroying him, not knowing if she was okay._

_We were directed up a few floors to another waiting room, we were informed that we needed to wait here for Bella's doctor to come and speak to us once her had done a full examination._

_Edward was pacing the small space like a caged lion refusing comfort from anybody, while Rose and Alice clung to each other bawling their eyes out._

"_Jasper" I said sitting in the chair next to him, "We need to call Renee and Charlie and my parents to. They should be here too."_

_He nodded, "I'll call Renee, you call Charlie, get Esme and Carlisle to bring him and Sue up from Forks" he suggested. _

_I nodded, gulping and taking a deep breath I pulled out my phone. I scrolled down and found the Chief's number; I was glad now that we had all decided to programme each other's parent's numbers into our phones. We had agreed that in case of an emergency it would be a life saver, I just never thought we'd actually need to use them._

"_Hello Swan residence" Charlie's gruff voice sounded on the other end of the line._

"_Charlie, its Emmett Cullen" I told him._

"_Emmett?" he questioned, "What can I do for you son?"_

"_I don't know how to tell you this" I admitted._

"_Just spit it out boy" he replied jokingly, I could hear the worry in his tone that he was trying to mask._

"_Charlie, Bella was in a car accident this afternoon" I told him my voice breaking._

_There was silence on the other end of the line before finally he replied. "Is is sh-she?" Charlie stuttered._

"_She's at Seattle Central Hospital, with the doctors now. They haven't told us anything" I told him, wishing I could give him more than that._

"_I'm leaving now, we'll be there as soon as we can" he replied his voice cracking._

"_Chief, my parents are on their way to pick you up, you shouldn't drive" I ordered, "Please sir, the last thing Bella needs is…"_

_He cut me off, "Thank you Emmett" he choked._

_I hung up and immediately dialled home, Dad picked up within five rings._

"_Hello Carlisle speaking" he greeted._

"_Dad, it's me Em" I replied flatly._

"_Emmett, what's wrong?" he asked concerned. That was Carlisle he could always tell if something was wrong._

"_I need you to get Mom and go and pick up Charlie and Sue. Bella's in hospital, she was in an accident" I told him the emotion making my voice crack again._

_I heard him whisper something to Mom making her choke out a loud sob. "We're packing a bag each and we're on our way" he told me. "We'll call you when we've got the Swans."_

_I hung up with unsteady hands; I could see an emotional Jasper talking to Renee on the phone. He ended the call and walked over to me his head hanging._

"_She's booking the first flight out of Florida to Seattle, they should be here tonight."_

_I put my arm around his shoulders and we went to comfort our girls._

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_I paced the room continuously, I had to be moving, I couldn't sit down not when everything was falling apart._

_It felt like we had been waiting for hours for someone to come and tell us if my angel was going to be alright. I was starting to panic now, she had to be alive. She just had to be. There was no other option here; I could not live without Bella, if something where to happen…. No I couldn't think that._

_Finally I heard footsteps coming down the corridor, the same doctor I had seen downstairs disappeared in the waiting room. His blue scrubs were smeared with blood; Bella's blood._

_I stared at him, trying to read his facial expression. "You are Ms Isabella Swan's partner and friends I understand?" he asked us._

_We nodded, waiting, unable to breathe, let alone talk._

"_Isabella has been stabilised" he told us._

_I breathed a huge sigh of relief._

"_How badly is she hurt?" sobbed Alice._

_He glanced at us all; clearly he was unsure as to whether or not he should tell us. That worried me immensely._

"_She has broken her right leg at the knee and ankle joints, her shoulder was dislocated along with her wrist, she had three broken ribs and a multitude of cuts and gashes which we have stitched. At present she is still unconscious, which in this case is normal as her body is in shock. She is incredibly fortunate to only have a very minor head injury and it doesn't appear that there has been any internal bleeding."_

_I stared at him unable to comprehend what he had just said, "Can I see her?" I choked finally._

"_I'm afraid not yet, we still have a few more tests to run, but I will let you all know as soon as it is possible for you to see her. Now have her parents been notified?" he asked._

_Shit I had completely forgotten to call Renee and Charlie._

"_Yes" I heard my brother's voice pipe up, "Both her father is coming in from Forks and her mother is on the first flight from Florida."_

_I shot Emmett a grateful look; he walked over and patted me on the back. "Bella's going to be okay Edward" he told me._


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's note: Thank you to all of my fantastic reviewers! To those of you who have private messaging disabled, thank you for taking the time to write in with your thoughts and feedback, it means a lot.**

**Now I know you are all eager to find out who would want to hurt our poor Bella and for Edward to get to see her, so without further ado here is chapter 40!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.**

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_It was agony waiting for Bella's doctor to return, I was going crazy. I desperately wanted to see her, to see with my own two eyes that she was okay._

_Knowing that she was stable and so far doing well was a huge relief, but I was still terrified. I had come so close to losing her again it scared the shit out of me._

_Finally I heard footsteps approaching from down the corridor. I got out of my chair and walked towards where the others were sitting._

"_How is she?" I asked desperately._

"_She's doing very well, Isabella has been incredibly lucky. We have found no signs at all of any brain damage from her head injury and there is no internal organ damage. I expect her to make a full recovery."_

_I could hear my friends sigh in relief._

"_Can we see her?" I begged._

_The doctor looked at us, "Not all of you I'm afraid, she's still in ICU. Her room is being prepped as we speak; a Doctor Carlisle Cullen called and request we have her in a private room. Your father I believe?" he asked._

_I nodded._

_He looked impressed, "Doctor Cullen is very well known and respected greatly, I have studied a great deal of his work and it will most certainly be an honour to meet him despite the cirsumstances."_

"_Please could Edward at least just see her?" Alice piped up in a small voice._

_I turned to see the others nodding in agreement. I felt guilty; I knew how much they all wanted to see her. But I was so desperate to be beside her again._

"_Follow me" he told me._

_I turned to them and mouthed thank you as the Doctor led the way down the corridor._

"_Now I need to remind you, she does have a lot of bruising and stitches she will look very different to how she normally would."_

_I nodded, I knew he was trying to warn me and mentally prepare me, I didn't care though, no matter how she looked she would always be my Bella._

_He pushed the door open and said "I'll give you a few minutes alone."_

_I rushed over to her beside and there she was. Bella looked so much better now that they had cleaned her up but still she looked so fragile and broken. She was hooked up to an IV and a few machines monitoring her vitals._

_I reached out and gently took her hand in mine._

"_You gave me quite a scare love" I told her unable to stop the tears that I had been struggling to keep a hold of all day from spilling over._

"_Oh Bella" I whispered looking at her, so battered and bruised and covered in bandages. It hurt so badly to see her like this, knowing how scared she must have been, how much physical pain she must be in._

"_Bella I love you so much, I was so scared I was going to lose you" I sobbed my voice cracking. I wished she would wake up so I could look into those beautiful brown eyes of hers and tell her how much she meant to me._

"_I'm sorry but we need to check her vitals again and prepare to move her now" the doctor informed me slipping into the room._

_I nodded wiping the tears off my cheeks and gave Bella a gentle kiss on her forehead._

"_I'll see you soon sweetheart, they're just going to move you to your own room and then I'll be able to sit with you again and watch over you. I love you my beautiful Bella" I whispered. Then I walked out of the room and back down the corridor to where our family was waiting._

_They all stood up when they saw me walk into the room. I knew they could tell I'd been crying, but I didn't care._

"_How is she?" Emmett asked putting his muscly arm around me._

"_She's still not awake" I told him as he guided me to a chair, "Em she looks so broken" I told him my voice cracking with emotion. "Why would someone want to hurt her like this? Why would someone try to k….." I couldn't even utter the word; it hurt too much knowing that things could have turned out so differently._

"_I don't know little bro" Emmett replied softly, "But they'll find whoever did it Edward and they will pay for what they did" he reassured me._

_We headed up to the floor with private rooms where the others got a chance to see Bella briefly. The doctor said he didn't want her to feel overwhelmed if she woke up to see people crowding her. I got to go in again and sit and hold her hand, talking to her and telling her how much she meant to me._

_They let me stay with her for a long time before Bella's medical team needed to check all of her vitals and run some more tests. I headed back out to the waiting room to see Charlie, Sue, Mom and Dad arrive._

"_Oh Edward honey!" my Mom cried rushing over to me and pulling me into her arms, I could tell she too had been crying and now there were fresh tears flowing down her cheeks._

"_Have you seen her?" she asked as she pulled back to look at me, Over her shoulder I could she Emmett, Jasper, Rose and Alive talking to Charlie and Sue. _

_Dad came over to hug me too and he stood with Mom looking more worried than I had ever seen him. I nodded, "Yes."_

"_How is she?" Dad asked gently, putting his hand on my shoulder comfortingly._

"_They said she'll make a full recovery but she just looks so…." I paused, taking a deep breath "I was so scared Mom, Dad, I thought I had lost her."_

"_Oh sweetie" Mom cried again pulling me into her arms and hugging me tight._

_Charlie and Sue returned from seeing Bella and came to see me so Mom and Dad could go in to sit with her for a moment._

"_Son" Charlie said hugging me; I could see the unshed tears in his eyes too. "Our Bella's given us one hell of a fright huh?"_

_I nodded, "Thank you Edward" he said his tone serious._

_I looked at him confused, "I can see how much you love my daughter and I thank you for being her for her when she needed you most."_

"_I do Charlie" I told him._

_A few hours later I was sitting beside Bella's bedside again, holding her hand. The others had begged me to go home and rest but I refused. Mom and Dad had gone home to drop off their bags as they were going to stay with me and Jasper while Charlie and Sue would stay at the girls place._

_Mom and Dad had ordered for the others to go and get some rest while they and Sue and Charlie were going to return to the hospital to stay with me through the night._

_Jasper had informed me earlier that the Police had showed up to question him about the accident earlier while I was with Mom and Dad. They had some information to follow up on but as the driver had mysteriously vanished from the scene before the paramedics had arrived they weren't sure who to look for._

_It transpired that the car had been reported stolen the previous day so that had provided them with a dead end so far._

_I had no idea who could have done this to Bella, but right now I was so wrapped up in her and wanting her to wake up that I didn't have the time to mull it over._

_I began to doze off as I held her hand in mine, my head resting on the back of the arm chair I had pulled over to her bedside when I heard it._

"_Edward" I heard, my eyes snapped open surely I had just dreamt that?_

"_Edward" Bella whispered, her eyelids fluttering._

_She was dreaming! I sat forward, "I'm right here baby" I told her._

"_Edward" she said again, clearer this time as her eyes opened and looked towards me._

"_Oh Bella, love you're awake!" I exclaimed._

"_Am I in the hospital?" she asked._

"_Yes baby you are how do you feel? Do you need the nurse?" I asked her._

_She shook her head._

"_Love, do you remember what happened?" I asked gently._

"_Yes" she croaked, "She drove her car straight into me, she rammed me off the road. She was trying to kill me."_

"_Who sweetheart? Who was is?" I asked rubbing her hand gently._

"_Victoria" she replied quietly, "It was Victoria Law."_


	41. Chapter 41

**Author's note: I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately, I haven't had nearly enough time in to put into writing this story as I'd like. I'm going to try a knock out a few chapters today so I can update This Time is Ours every few days or so. **

**Thanks for following the story and I love hearing you lovely comments through your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.**

_**Edward's Point of View**_

_I sat and stared at her in total shock, Victoria did this? Victoria was the one who hurt my Bella. I let it sink in for a moment before replying. I didn't want to stress her out by freaking out over what she had just told me._

"_Victoria?" I asked, "Love, are you sure?"_

_Bella nodded, "It was her, there's no mistaking her. I'd never forget her face especially after…" she trailed off, it was obvious she was thinking back to the time we spent apart no thanks to my own stupidity and Victoria's psychotic behaviour._

"_I believe you" I told her squeezing her hand. _

_We were then interrupted by one of Bella's nurses, "You're awake" she commented with a smile. "I'll just go and get Doctor Wilson, he'll need to run a few more tests and a check up to see how you are doing" she told Bella before leaving the room and returning seconds later with Doctor Wilson._

_He strode into the room armed with a clipboard full of charts, "How are you feeling Isabella?" he asked._

"_Tired, sore" she said quietly._

_He nodded understandingly, "We'll give you another dose of pain medication as soon as I'm finished" he promised._

_Doctor Wilson let me stay in the room as he checked Bella over, "Well Isabella all your vitals are looking excellent and I can tell you now you will make a speedy recovery" he told Bella. "The Police are here to question you about the accident, but I've told them they cannot speak to you just yet" he said kindly, "Now I'll send in your Nurse with some more pain medication, it will help you sleep and give your body time to start the healing process."_

_Bella shook her head, "No not yet, I don't want to sleep yet" she said panicky._

'_Love you need to rest" I told her brushing a lock of hair from her face._

"_I need to talk to the Police" she said pleadingly, "Then I'll sleep I promise."_

_I nodded at her before turning to look at Doctor Wilson, somehow without uttering a word he knew why Bella was so eager to talk with them._

_He returned a few minutes later with two officers, they told me apologetically that I would need to wait outside. I left telling Bella I'd be right outside her door if she needed me and gave her a kiss on the cheek._

_I paced outside waiting for the two officers to be finished questioning Bella, I knew I should probably go and tell everyone that Bella was awake but I promised her I would stay right here in case she needed me. _

_Doctor Wilson told me he would go and tell them the news and let them know that they could all see her, briefly before they needed to let her rest for the remainder of the day._

_Twenty long minutes later I was able to return to Bella's side while the officers questioned me on how and what I knew about Victoria. I told them everything I possibly could before they left assuring us they would find her._

_After the rest of our family and friends came in to see Bella I sat with her while the Nurse administered her meds and held her hand before she fell asleep._

**Bella's Point of View**

When I woke up the next morning I was more than a little confused, it took me a few moments to figure out where I was and what was going on. I took a deep breath and felt a stabbing pain in my side, broken ribs, now I remembered.

My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I saw was Edward, sitting in an armchair beside my bed.

"Morning love" he said softly leaning over to kiss me.

"Morning" I whispered, "How long have you been here for?" I asked.

He looked sheepish, "Ah" he said running his hand through his tousled hair, "I was here all night love, I didn't want to leave you."

"I wouldn't have minded if you went home to sleep" I told him.

He shook his head, "Babe I needed to be here" he replied, "I couldn't bear the thought of you waking up here alone."

I smiled at him, what had I ever done to deserve such a wonderful boyfriend like Edward? I wondered.

"Has there been any news?" I asked, I didn't give specifics at to what news sensing that he would know exactly what I meant.

"The car is hers" he told me, "And your description of her matches what a few witnessed glimpsed before she disappeared from the scene."

I looked at him horrified, "How could she just disappear, she must have been hurt too. I mean look at me" I said gesturing to my injuries.

"They think someone must have helped her, one man said he saw someone drag her from the car, she was conscious. When he looked back the man and Victoria were gone" Edward replied, "In all of the chaos she just slipped away."

While I knew she must have planned this in some way, it surprised me that someone helped her with her sick and utterly crazy plan.

"I know this is a lot to take in love" Edward said softly stoking my forehead.

"I'd rather know" I told him looking into his emerald green eyes. "Do you think they'll find her?" I asked hopefully.

"I think they will" he told me honestly, "She can't run forever."


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's note: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers for reading and reviewing! Keep them coming, I truly appreciate each and every one =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.**

Sometime after our discussion I must have fallen asleep, I woke a few hours later to find it was early in the evening and Renee sitting in the chair Edward had been sitting in only a few hours previous.

"Mom?" I asked as I blinked the sleep from my eyes.

"Yes baby I'm right here" she replied grabbing my hand, "Oh honey I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here, I got the first possible plane out of Jacksonville after Jasper called ."

"It's okay Mom, I'm okay" I reassured her.

Renee looked at me, her eyes filled with tears, "It's not okay honey, I can't believe that girl did this to you" she sobbed.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Honey Edward told me everything" Renee replied, "He has been so worried about you! He never leaves that boy. You need to hold onto him Bells he's such a lovely boy."

Renee's rant made me smile, "I intend on doing just that Mom" I replied.

"Good" she replied, pleased, but that didn't last long. "Honey I was so worried about you, we all were" she said squeezing my hand her eyes filling with tears again, "How are you feeling? Shall I call the nurse?"

"I'm fine Mom really" I reassured her. I sat up in bed a little more, taking in my surroundings properly for the first time. There were several bunches of flowers in different coloured vases scattered around the room and speaking of which, it didn't look like your ordinary hospital room. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it when I first woke up, maybe I had been moved while I was sleeping?

"It's a lovely room isn't it?" Renee asked as if she could read my thoughts, "Carlisle insisted you have a private room while you stay here, he even insisted on paying, your father, Sue, Phil and I assured him he didn't need to do that, that we could cover the cost but he's very persuasive" she said smiling.

"Just like his son" I replied smiling back.

"Yes" Renee said grinning, "They are such wonderful people, I feel so much better you living so far away knowing that you have so many good people around you Bella" she continued.

"I'm lucky" I told her.

"In more ways than one" she replied, looking me over and wincing slightly.

"How bad is it?' I whispered. I hadn't seen myself in a mirror since I ended up here, I must look awful.

Renee glanced at me, "Not that bad honey, you still look beautiful. It's just hard to see my baby all bandaged up, lying in a hospital bed hooked up to all of these machines" she told me, her lip quivering.

"I'll be okay Mom" I told her again.

She just nodded, holding her sobs in. We sat in silence for a while, just holding hands. I was thinking over everything, it was such a lot to take in and process. I wanted to supress all of the emotions I was feeling much as I had when all that shit went down with James, but I knew I shouldn't do that now. Losing Edward had taught me that, holding everything in would cause me to break down eventually when something bigger happened in the future and that wasn't healthy, I just wasn't sure what to really think about this whole situation.

I knew I should not really be surprised that Victoria wanted to get me out of the picture, I guessed how attached she had become to Edward months ago when this whole mess started. But eliminating me? That was crazy, completely insane, which bought forward even more questions. What would she have thought would happen if she had actually killed me? What more was she prepared to do? What more was she capable of?

I didn't have the answers, but she did. Where ever she was.

While I mulled this over Edward came back into the room. I felt an intense feeling of relief as soon as he entered the room again, I hadn't even realised how wound up I felt without him.

_Later that week_

Finally almost a week after I was first admitted into hospital I was to be discharged. I was so relieved to be going home, not that I wasn't grateful to Carlisle and Esme for ensuring I not only got the very best care possible but by also arranging my private room for me to recover in. Still there is nothing like home, especially my own bed!

Once they were sure I was settled and after reassurance from Charlie that he wouldn't rest until and I quote 'the bitch that hurt his little girl had her crazy ass thrown in jail', all of our respective sets of parents went their separate ways back home to Florida, Forks and Port Angeles. Edward however had practically moved in with me to help me with my recovery, although I drew the line with him helping me with some tasks. Alice aided me when I refused to let Edward and for that I owed her big time.

In terms of my physical recovery I was doing well, I still had to make regular hospital visits to remove my stitches and to make sure my broken bones were healing correctly. As for my emotional state I was a bit of a mess. It seemed I was right in thinking that bottling up all of the feelings and blocking the hideous memories that I had for so long it had all come down like an avalanche after the most recent traumatic experience I had faced.

I was nervous and jumpy and the only way I could sleep was with Edward by my side. On top of it all I was becoming more and more paranoid and the main thing weighing on my mind was that Victoria had had help. My paranoia increased when I discovered after over hearing Edward and Alice talking that Victoria had once dated James. She was James's ex, this disturbed me greatly. In my mind there were now only a handful of opportunities; one she was out for revenge for James's death, two she was merely carrying on his vendetta and three, three was the option that terrified me the most. The option that made me feel sick to my stomach, I wasn't even sure if it were at all possible but what if James was still alive?


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's note: As requested here is the next chapter of This Time is Ours. A huge, massive thank you to everyone who reviewed, next chapter I'll do a shout out to all of you lovelies! **

**Read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

All night I wrestled with insomnia, but not matter what I did I couldn't fall asleep. I was beside myself with panic and worry over my theory. No matter how many times I tried to convince myself it just wasn't possible for him to still be alive, after all we were on the scene when he was pronounced dead, I couldn't shake the feeling I had. After hours of lying in bed wide awake while Edward slept I got up quietly and powered up my lap top. Determined I opened a search engine and typed in James Hunter, I knew it was a stretch to find any information that would be at all helpful since we knew a lot about him thanks to Laurent's help

A few newspaper articles popped up, recent ones from my ordeal with him when it was discovered James was a murderer. I hadn't followed the story at the time; I was finding it too difficult to deal with the emotions I was experiencing to add to them by discovering things I didn't want to know. I clicked on a link and scrolled through the story, I knew exactly what I was looking for, what I needed to look for, it would be the answer to my question.

I clicked on the next link and again hit a dead end, determined I scrolled through a few more before finally stumbling across what I was looking for.

_Hunter's twin brother Marcus was not available to comment on his death, the family has asked for privacy during this difficult time._

I swallowed thickly, terror washing over me. I was right, I had to be right. Even I knew it was far-fetched, everybody else would think it was positively insane. He wasn't dead; he was still alive and hiding Victoria. James's twin had been the one chasing me that day; he was the one who had died, in place of his brother, deceiving his friends and family.

"Bella?" Edward questioned from my bed behind me. I turned to see him sitting up to look at me. "Love what's wrong?" he asked as he saw the look of horror on my face. He got out of bed and rushed over to me. "Bella talk to me" Edward ordered pulling me away from the computer screen.

"He's not dead" I gasped as I fully processed what was going on in my head.

"Sweetheart he is dead, you've got nothing to worry about" Edward soothed smoothing my hair.

"No he's not!" I choked out, "Edward he has a twin brother, his brother was the one that died that day. James is still alive; he's the one who helped Victoria!" I shrieked becoming hysterical.

Edward stared at me, "Bella…" he began.

"No think about it Edward it is possible" I interrupted.

There was a knock on my door, making me jump and shriek in fright. Edward put his arms around me, trying to calm me down.

"It's just me Bella" Alice said quietly, "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Come in Alice" Edward replied.

The door opened and a very sleepy looking Jasper followed Alice into my room. "I heard Bella shriek, what's going on?" Alice asked her brow furrowed.

"I couldn't sleep so I got up and did a bit of research" I explained taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

Alice nodded, encouraging me to carry on.

I swallowed, "James has a twin brother and I think it was him that followed me that day, the one that died." I stared at Alice gauging her reaction; I watched her expression as her mind ticked over, processing what I had just told her.

"I think you're right" Edward said in a low voice from behind me. I turned to face him, he looked me in the eye and continued "You're right Bella, it all makes sense, the pieces fit" he said glancing at Alice and Jasper.

Alice nodded, "Of course" she breathed, "I never would have even considered it, I didn't know he had a twin, did you?" she asked.

Jasper shook his head, "No, he certainly didn't go to UW otherwise we would have heard about him before now" he replied.

"So what do we do now?" Alice asked.

I put my face in my hands, "I have no idea. No one is going to believe me. Even I know I sound crazy, what would other people think?"

"You're not crazy love" Edward reassured me, "Maybe we need to do a bit of research ourselves before we take this to the authorities, we're about to make some pretty serious allegations, we'll need a little proof to back ourselves up."

"I think it's time to pay Laurent another visit" Jasper replied.

Early the next morning Rose and Emmett joined us at our place, somehow they had all wrangled the day off work to join us in paying Laurent a visit. Edward still had Laurent's number so we gave him a quick call and without any information on why we were paying him a visit he invited us round.

An hour or so later we pulled up at Laurent's new address, he had moved after he had found out about just how sick and twisted his housemate had been. He now lived in a small rented bungalow about twenty minutes from our own place.

"Hello my friends!" Laurent greeted us when he opened his front door to find all six of us standing on his front porch.

"Morning Laurent" Edward greeted him in a friendly manner shaking Laurent's out stretched hand.

"Come in, come in!" he said ushering us into his home, "Make yourselves at home" said when he led us into his living room. We sat down on the sofa and arm chairs he had arranged quite artfully in the small room. "It's been too long" Laurent said smiling widely at us all, "It's wonderful to see you all but I'm afraid I might be correct in thinking this visit isn't a happy one?" he asked.

"You're right" Edward told him, "I wish we weren't here under these certain circumstances but we really need your help."

"Of course" Laurent replied nodding.

"Bella" Edward prompted.

I took a deep breath and launched into my theory, explaining the accident, the article I found, the whole ordeal with Victoria. Laurent quietly listened nodding and murmuring in places. When I finally finished he looked thoughtful.

"That son of a bitch" Laurent said quietly.

We all looked at each other shocked; Laurent never spoke in that manner. Before I even had a chance to think into it any further Laurent spoke.

"I always knew he was intelligent, a planner, cunning" Laurent said, "But continually he surprises me. There is no doubt in my mind that you're on to something Bella, it all fits together nicely, James is a very particular person and everything he ever does in life has a purpose. Most of the time one can never see what outcome he is aiming for but when he reaches his goal it always makes perfect sense. As for Victoria, well I always knew she was a complete psychopath so it would not at all surprise me that she be involved."

We all remained silent as he spoke, thinking out loud. We were right to involve Laurent; he knew exactly how James operated. But could he help us track him down?


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's note: At long last another update! I've just moved house and have had no internet connection until now, so I'm really really sorry for not updating! Hope you all enjoy the new chapter!**

**Read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

Tracking down James and Victoria proved to be no easy feat; evasion seemed to be a talent of theirs. It was literally like they had vanished off the face of the earth, but we all knew better. It terrified me to know that they were out there somewhere, biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The problem was none of us had any clue as to when, where and how they would make their reappearance.

Laurent had already managed to confirm that the Hunter family had definitely not heard from 'Marcus', as they knew him to be, recently. I was sceptical that they had no clue what was really going on, I mean surely a mother would know the difference between her twin sons. To find out for sure Laurent paid them a visit, Mrs Hunter tearfully told Laurent that since 'James's' death 'Marcus' couldn't bear to be around the family any longer as it bought back too many painful memories. She also informed Laurent that 'Marcus' was struggling to come to terms with the other side to 'James' that had been revealed when he died.

Reluctantly I agreed that the Hunter family couldn't be hiding James, I really had no choice but to believe. Victoria had no family that we could manage to track down so that ruled out another possibility of where they could be. Laurent spoke to the very few friends James had to try and find some leads and once again he was unsuccessful.

We then moved on to finding out as much as we possibly could about Marcus; since James was posing as his brother it made sense that he would be being as thorough about it as possible. Following his brother's routines, living in his house, working his job and buying things in his name all made the story completely believable and Laurent said that James always had been a perfectionist.

After a bit of digging Jasper and Edward managed to find an address for a Marcus Hunter and his place of current employment. But these lead too turned out to be dead ends, 'Marcus' had recently quit his job and moved out of his small two bedroom apartment in downtown Seattle.

I couldn't take it anymore, I hated living in a state of constant fear, I was terrified of being left alone but also hated the fact that I was replying so heavily on everyone around me just to get through each day. Something had to give, I was almost due to be returning to work and this had to end, I refused to put the other teachers and all of the students in danger because of me.

But the days flew by and still nothing. I began to doubt myself, maybe I was wrong? Maybe this whole crazy theory of mine was just that, crazy. We had no proof after all, not a scrap of evidence to support our story. There was no use going to the authorities, they would think we were wasting their time. I felt like we would be.

And then one dreary ordinary weekday things finally came to a head.

It was the end of October, the week of Halloween. I had finally managed to convince Alice that her and Jasper deserved a night out together, Edward had to work late so Emmett and Rose offered to come and keep me company. I refused, it was time I finally began to regain some independence and face up to my fears of being alone.

I ordered some Chinese takeout and while I was waiting for it to be delivered I put on the girliest movie I could find. I was actually feeling pretty good about the fact that I was alone for the first time since the accident.

I was relaxing in the living room waiting when there was a knock at the door. Despite myself I jumped and my confidence was shattered immediately, I took a deep breath to calm myself down and went to answer the door.

It was of course my Chinese takeout, I took the cartons from the delivery man and after paying shut and locked the door behind me. I shook my head, completely freaking out over a knock at the door was ridiculous but I couldn't help it. Before I could sink deeper into a state of panic and unease I pushed all thoughts of _them _from my mind and walked towards the living room.

I was so busy concentrating on staying calm I didn't even notice him sitting in my living room until a low sarcastic laugh alerted me of his presence.

I looked up to see James Hunter sitting in the very same spot I had been sitting in only minutes earlier. I dropped the takeout carton in shock, I choked out what was supposed to be a scream but came out more like a yelp.

"Hello _Bella_" James said, a smirk playing on his lips.

I stared at him, like a deer caught in headlights. "How did you get in?" I stuttered.

James continued to smirk, "That's not important, what's important is that you're here all alone, unprotected, _finally_."

His words chilled me, I had to fight against the terror I was feeling, the panic and dread. I had to think fast, I knew why he was here, he was here to kill me that much was obvious but how was I going to get away? That was my top priority.

"And since I have you alone I think it's time we had a bit of a chat" he continued leaning back on the sofa. "A heart to heart if you will."

I crossed my arms in defiance, glaring at him. Trying to make him believe I wasn't absolutely shit scared.

"You've been getting in my way for far too long Bella, always thwarting me from getting what I want. That all ends now" James informed me, anger evident in his eyes. He smiled again before continuing, "You think you know why I'm here but really you have no fucking clue about what I really want."

"Enlighten me" I replied angrily.

James chuckled, "Very well, I've wanted him for such a long time" he said a longing look in his eyes.

Wait, what? _He?_


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's note: I promise that **_**everything **_**will be explained in this chapter. Get ready for a bombshell….**

**Read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

I stared at him in shock, but James didn't even seem to notice.

"I had always admired him from a far, I didn't want anyone to know my secret, not yet and then _you _moved to town" he glared at me briefly before continuing. "It was obvious he wanted you, I could see it in his eyes. I had spent so much time observing him I knew every little facial expression, what every single body moment meant. At first I thought it would just be a passing thing, it was obvious, we were meant to be. You were just a distraction."

I exhaled sharply; this could so not be happening.

"Then at that Halloween party I decided to play a little game, to make a play for you to see just how much he felt for you" James laughed bitterly. "Turned out more than I realised, that's when I made my decision, you had to be removed."

His words chilled me to the bone.

"So I spent weeks, thinking, planning. It had to be perfect. If you hadn't noticed I'm quite the _perfectionist" _he smiled to himself. "I had to devote less time to watching him and more to watching you, I wasn't happy about that. But I kept reminding myself, it was for a good cause. It turned out I was wrong on that count too, you were both spending a lot more time together, watching you both made me jealous and fucking angry" James spat.

He collected himself once more while I processed what he was telling me. I could not believe it, this was utterly crazy, he was crazy.

"Then when I found you were going to go to a night time study group and meet with him afterwards I had found the perfect time to set in motion my plan. Originally I had no clue the study group was going to finish early, but I knew that he'd be a little late in getting to you to take you home so I figured there'd be a window when I could get you taken away. But things turned out so much better than that, I think you remember" James smirked, reminding me.

Images flashed through my mind, a shadow creeping up behind me, two unfamiliar hands gripping my waist, the wet concrete in front of my eyes when I tripped.

"What I didn't count on was you being such a little fighter, you struggled for just long enough for him to get to you in time" he gritted his teeth. "That was not part of the plan, you were supposed to be dragged away, I was going to run into Edward, tell him I'd seen someone take you, tell him I tried to stop it but I couldn't. Then I'd comfort him" he grinned manically.

"Once again, you had thwarted me. I got a little too angry, cocky. You set the authorities on to me. I had to come up with a new plan. That was where my dear late brother came in."

I felt sick, dizzy, my palms were sweaty and my breathing ragged. He wouldn't confess all of this to me if he planned on keeping me around. I had to come up with a plan and damn fast.

"Luckily for me my brother was already on a path of self-destruction, alcohol and hard drugs. It was me that got him into all of that in the first place" James laughed. "So with the right bribery he would do _anything _I asked. I got him to follow you that day, I knew there was a possibility of a Police shooting, an accident and I was right. As he sped down that highway, thinking of the reward he would be getting he had no idea he was about to become another statistic and for that matter his twin brother. You identified him as me, it was perfect. I must thank you for that Bella, you helped me immensely" he clapped him hands, that manic grin still on his lips.

"I biding my time then, I knew I had to be more careful, my next plan had to be flawless. So I recruited Victoria, she was just as enamoured with him as I was and more than willing to share. So together was hatched a new plan, my personal best I thought. I convinced Victoria to be the driver, I couldn't be seen, I was a _dead man _after all. I lied and told her I had fitted out the car with safety features to ensure she would survive the impact. Really though I didn't give a shit, she was just a pawn in my game, easily replaceable."

I took a deep breath, I was struggling with the memories his stories were bring back. They were ones that haunted me, featuring in many a nightmare.

"She followed you that day, waiting for the right time to plough her car into yours ending your life forever. I waited in a blacked out van, ready to rescue her in case she survived. I knew that she would talk if I didn't uphold my end of the deal. I dragged her from the car while everyone was distracted with you and we made our escape, it was like she had just vanished!" James clapped his hands together once grinning madly.

"We watched from a safe distance as the ambulance loaded you up until I really had to find Victoria her own medical attention; I disguised myself and drove to Canada taking her to a local hospital, public, nothing fancy. Once she was discharged we drove back to hide out at the house I had snagged under a fake persona. That was when I learnt that you were _alive_" he sneered the word alive, looking at me as though I was poison.

"Time and time again you ruined everything I had planned, everything I worked so hard for; which brings us to today, here and now. I will not let you get in my way anymore Isabella Swan, tonight your life will end and I will be with my one true love, Edward Cullen."


	46. Chapter 46

**Author's note: How was that for a cliffy huh? Hope you were all shocked by James confessions, I certainly was writing it! Thank you once again to all of my super lovely reviewers (you know who you are!), I love hearing your thoughts and opinions, they have on more than one occasion helped me with the direction of my story while experiencing a bad case of writer's block! And now onto chapter 46, lives will be changed forever and one will end indefinitely. **

**Read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

I gasped as he finally uttered Edward's name, he was in _love _with _Edward._ Pieces of the puzzle fit together now, all making perfect sense, but that wasn't going to help me. Like he said, he had the end planned for me tonight and somehow I knew he was right. I had been lucky too many times, used up all my nine lives.

"You're lucky it's just me here tonight Bella, Victoria planned on killing you slowly, making you pay for her suffering. But I'll be quick, I almost admire you, you're far tougher than I imagined, a quality I find very pleasing. Really it's a pity, you could have been such a great asset to me" James sighed.

This was it and I had no game plan, the talking was done, nothing left to say. I had to think like the Police Chiefs daughter that I was and remember everything my father had ever told me about self-defence.

"I'd like to film things though if you don't mind, a little souvenir for my collection" he informed me.

I had to agree with him, keep him happy and make him think he was in control. For now.

I nodded.

"Good, I'm glad you're being so agreeable Bella, it's not what I expected" James informed me.

I just stared at him and while he busied himself with the video recorder I gave him a once over. James was armed, just as I suspected, he had a hand gun tucked into his jeans pocket. I thought back to when Charlie taught me how to fire a gun, something Renee still doesn't know about to this very day.

From what I could tell he also had a small pocket knife tucked into his other pocket, not as deadly as the gun. The gun I needed first, the knife I would try and get later. I glanced around the room, the sliding glass door to outside was unlocked, that must have been where he got in. I would have to make my escape out that was, over the Edward and Jasper's fence.

Running wouldn't get me far enough though; I needed my keys and my phone. I moved my leg discretely, and had to stifle a relived sigh. By some miracle they were both in my pocket still.

I glanced back up at James and just in time too. He looked up at me after pressing one final button on the recorder; I hoped like hell he hadn't noticed anything. He was observant and dangerous after all.

"Action" he said a wide smile appearing on his face.

He set it down and strolled over to me, he smiled once more before pulling back and punching me in the side of my face. I gasped in pain as I fell to the floor with a thud, I could taste blood in my mouth. With determination I steeled myself for what I was about to do.

James knelt down beside me, "Did that hurt Bella?" he taunted "I lied when I said I'd make it quick, this is just a taste of what's to come."

I gritted my teeth, it was time for me to finally show everyone what I was made of, I wasn't going to sit back and cry this time.

I bought my knee up and connected swiftly with his crotch, he cried out in surprise. "You bitch!" James screamed.

But I wasn't done there, I scrambled to my feet, praying they wouldn't betray me know and trip me up. James was still kneeling beside me, writhing in pain, I pulled my own arm back, "Pay back is such a bitch" I told him before my fist connected with his jaw. Without waiting for his reaction I ran across the room flinging the door open so hard the glass almost shattered. As I sprinted towards the fence I heard him from behind me. His footsteps were heavy and he was cursing obscenely.

I kept the thought of Edward in my mind; I had to get to Edward. I had to survive this.

I launched myself at the fence, scrambling to get up and over it, the rain made it slippery but I was determined. James grabbed my leg and tried to pull me off but I kicked wildly hoping to loosen his grip. It worked, the leg he didn't have a grip on connected with his stomach, winding him.

I took the short window where he was distracted by pain to get myself over the top of the fence; I landed hard on the wet ground scraping my knees and palms. I felt numb to the pain; I had to reach my goal, Edward.

I got to my feet as quickly as I could and ran across the yard and over the gate. I made it to the driveway where my car was parked when I heard him fast approaching again. I threw open my car door to find wires cut and tangled spilling from the dash board.

Mother fucker he had ruined my car.

There was no time to waste, I ran as fast as I could down the drive still hearing James footsteps behind me. The rain was pouring down now, almost blinding me as I ran, I headed for the park down the street to try and find somewhere to hide to call Edward, the Police, anyone who would answer.

As I ran across the muddy grass I slipped. My advantage was now over and James caught up fast. I couldn't even get up on my feet before he was there, standing over me. He punched me again, square in the face.

"You bitch" he screamed at me. "Did you really think you could outrun me?"

The fear and panic within me somehow turned into an adrenaline rush, I shoved him off me booting him in the stomach as hard as I could before taking off again.

I ran, for so damn long I ran. I had no idea where I was, all I knew was that there was no one around. No one to help me, I was on my own.

**A/N: Thoughts? Questions? Leave me a review or PM me to let me know what you think! I have actually pre-written the next few chapters so if I can get 10 reviews today I WILL upload chapter 47 TODAY! So come on my fellow fanpires drop me a line**


	47. Chapter 47

**Author's note: Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I think that might have been the ****best ****response I have had so far for this story! I promise I will reply to each and every one of your reviews this week and there'll be another update too, pinky promise =) And now onto chapter 47, lives will be changed forever and one will end indefinitely. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

I found a small alley way with two openings and full of rubbish bins and large storage containers. I hid the best I could after making sure James hadn't seen and dialled Edward's number.

"Hey sweetheart, I was just about to call you" Edward's velvety voice greeted me on the other end.

"Edward" I choked.

"Bella, baby what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, hearing the panic in my tone immediately.

"James broke in, he's trying to kill me" I gasped, struggling to catch my breath.

"WHAT?" Edward yelled in response. "I'm coming home now Bella, I'm getting Lee to call the Police now."

"I'm not at home, I got away but he's chasing me. It won't be long before he finds me. Edward he's got a gun."

I heard Edward gasp and curse on the other end of the phone, "Bella I need you to tell me where you are baby" Edward begged.

I told him what I could remember about the directions I had taken, brief things I had seen as a blur while I ran. "Edward I…"

My phone was knocked from my ear, falling on the ground beside me. "I told you not to run Bella. I told you I would catch you and now I'll make you pay" James growled.

"BELLA" I heard Edward screaming through the phone.

James grabbed me by my wrists and pulled me to my feet before slamming me into the brick wall behind me. I cried out in pain while he punched me with all his strength. "That's what you get for trying to hurt me Bella that really wasn't very nice."

I could feel a warm wet feeling spreading through my hair, blood. I could smell it in the air around me, rust and salt.

I knew I was nearing the end of the road now, I could sense he was getting angrier by the second. I wanted to fight back one last time, but my head was pounding, I felt so dizzy. Then I remembered Edward, I had to get to Edward.

I pushed James from me and made a dash for it down the dank, dark alley way. Feeling desperate I ran straight out onto the road, running down the middle. All the while I hoped and prayed for my life to be spared.

I heard car tyres screeching, speeding around the corner that was right in front of me. Through the pouring rain I glanced up, it was a silver Volvo. Edward.

Edward stopped suddenly, his brakes protesting loudly. He launched himself from the car, running towards me. I threw myself into his arms and he wrapped them around me gladly, despite the dirt, blood and water that covered me.

"Bella" Edward cried, "Baby are you hurt? What did he do to you?" he demanded. Edward pulled back to look at me, "_He hit you?"_ he gasped looking at my no doubt battered and now bruised faced.

"Let her go Edward" James demanded.

I turned around to see James standing behind us just a short distance away. "I told you Bella, this all ends tonight, you will not stand in the way of me and Edward any longer" he said calmly.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Edward screamed, "YOU FUCKING HIT HER" he bellowed. "I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU, YOU PHYSCOTIC….."

"I'm in love with you Edward, can't you see?" James interrupted. "Bella is all wrong for you; she's just been a distraction."

Edward sucked in a deep breath beside me; I could tell this had knocked him for six. Hell I was still in shock over his confession myself.

"Wait what?" Edward asked confused. "You, you're…?"

"Yes, I always have been from the very moment I saw you I knew" James replied, I could see the adoration in his eyes. "I'll kill her tonight and if you still don't want to be with me I'll have to kill you too. If I can't have you then no one can."

James raised his gun, pointing it straight at me and from behind us I heard sirens. The Police squad cars screeched around the corner stopping to a halt behind us. James held the gun steady as the officers piled out of the cars, guns also at the ready.

"DROP THE GUN!" I heard one yell at James.

James gritted his teeth and glared at us, "I won't be stopped this time" he told me, "This plan will not be ruined again by you" he added pointedly glaring at me.

"I said drop the gun" the officer warned.

"NO!" James screamed, "She deserves to die!"

He cocked his gun at me, I heard the gun clip clicking; I heard the sound of the trigger being pulled. I closed my eyes and heard the gun powder pop as a bullet was fired. And then I screamed.


	48. Chapter 48

**Author's note: I know, I know, another cliffy! I'm sorry for leaving you guys hanging! Hopefully this chapter will answer all of your burning questions, if not pm me or review. I love to hear from you guys. I promise I will answer all of your reviews and messages!**

**Thank you to all of my super amazing reviewers, I reading your reviews and getting a chance to hear from you. It means a lot to me that you all take the time to read and review my little (ok long!) story, your feedback helps to inspire me to write this story.**

**I would like to give a shout out to all of you who reviewed my last two chapter, so a big thank you to:**

**Mrsgabicullen, MissAnthonyMasenCullen, Mimu09, rachie.w, wolfgirlrules, Ellyjam, g'sgurlx3, Sarah-Pattinson, **

**P a i g e . h, luhexayy, sandra1992, nikitabella, vipc31, Kcullen, babyA, twilight lamb, Cracker679, robstenlover2125, IceChocolateTammy, HowImissSA and TwimomJen.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

I heard the woosh of the bullet moving through the air, Edward pushed me to the ground roughly and covered me body with his. I could feel the cold wet concrete beneath me; the rain was beating down harder than before. I heard the unmistakeable sound of more shots being fired and I let out a scream, my body tensed up and my heart was pounding. Edward was shielding me from what sounded like a barrage of bullets, I was no longer afraid for myself but for Edward. James's bullets would hit him before he'd be able to get a good shot at me.

Before I could stop them warm, salty tears began to streak down my face as I realised the enormity of the situation. Someone could die today and it would be my fault, I should have never run from James.

Finally after an eternity Edward pulled me to my feet, I stood in shock, my whole body aching. I was so sore, my face was stinging and I could feel the blood still pulsing out of the wound on my head.

"Bella baby are you okay?" Edward asked frantically.

I just stood there and stared at him because I didn't know the answer and then I began to panic, there was blood and a lot of it covering Edward's shirt. Had he been shot? I felt faint and clammy at the thought of Edward bring hurt, getting shot all because of me.

"Did he shoot you?" I asked my voice cracking with emotion. My chest hurt and my heart was racing. "Are you hurt?" I asked in a high pitched voice unlike my own.

"No baby" Edward replied smoothing down my hair.

"Are you sure ?" I whispered.

"No I'm okay sweetheart" he promised.

My breathing began to even out and my heart rate started to slow a little, but then it struck me. If neither of us had been shot then who had been? Even though I was in a state of shock, terror and blind panic I knew I hadn't imagined the sound of multiple gun shots. That was back up by the smell of gun powder that tainted the air around us.

And then I saw him, James. He was lying in a pool of blood, he was the one who had been shot.

Suddenly all of the emotions, the pain I was feeling all over, the image of a dead man lying in front of me became too much. I pulled away from Edward and fainted.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

I woke up a few minutes later in the back of an ambulance, with Edward holding my hand as we sped towards what I presumed was the hospital. The hospital again; when was this ever going to end. I was in a daze the whole time while the Doctor gave me a full check-up, cleaned my wounds and bandaged me up. Thankfully by some small miracle I hadn't gotten a concussion when James had smashed my head against the wall so they discharged me immediately.

Edward had somehow arranged for Jasper and Emmett to come and pick us up and Edward's car. We drove home, Edward cradling me in the backseat while I bawled my eyes out.

When we finally got home Edward seemed to read my mind and he carried me straight up to his room placing me gently on his bed. Without talking he laid down next to me and held me while I completely broke down.

Finally what seemed like hours later, woozy from the strong pain medication I had been prescribed and safe in Edward's arms I drifted off to sleep.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

It took me a few weeks to get my head around what had happened to me, this time I couldn't block it all out. It was too much to hold in this time around; the hospital arranged a counsellor for me to talk to so I could work through all of the emotions I was feeling.

Three weeks later I returned to work, determined to put all of this behind me. My injuries were finally healed, well most of them. The stiches in my head hadn't yet dissolved and I had some faint bruises remaining, but I was alive and finally healing. Edward was safe and by my side, that was all that mattered.

My students and fellow teachers welcomed me back with open arms and unwavering concern. With my permission the school had been notified to some degree about what had happened to me, the Principal Mr Banner thought that it was important that the students and staff know so that they could support me through my healing process.

All in all I was doing remarkably well now that I was letting all of emotions out instead of blocking everything out. I wasn't experiencing any nightmares anymore and now that Victoria had been arrested and found guilty of her involvement I had the closure I needed.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

Planning for Alice's dream wedding was now back in action and I was throwing myself right into the madness and loving every minute of it. Rose, Alice and I were having a girly night in, flicking through stacks of wedding magazines in search of inspiration while the guys had a night out. It had taken some convincing from Alice and Rose to get Edward to leave my side for the night; he was understandably more protective of me now than ever before. With some coaxing from Em and Jazz he gave in but only after I reassured him I would be just fine with Allie and Rose. Besides everybody knew Rose was a force to be reckoned with!

"Have you decided what colour you want our dresses to be yet?" Rose asked Alice sipping on a glass of champagne.

Alice pursed her lips, "I'm still not one hundred per cent sure but I'm thinking purple."

Rose and I exchanged glances and smiles, "A lighter shade or darker?" Rose asked.

"I'm leaning on the darker side, like plum or…" she furrowed her brows, "What do you think?" she asked glancing up from her magazine.

"It sounded perfect Allie" I replied softly.

Alice beamed at me, "That's what I was thinking!" she exclaimed. "I still can't believe this is happening" she said suddenly. "I mean getting married, I always knew that Jasper was the one but it still feels so surreal."

Rose nodded, "I know what you mean, that's what it felt like before me and Em got married" she said beaming.

I never thought I'd be saying this but marriage really suits Rose; she just glows constantly and is happier than I have ever seen her. Suddenly it makes me want all of that too. Alice seems to read my mind.

"You'll be next Bella" she tells me with a knowing look in her eye, "I would put money on it that you and Edward will be engaged before the year is out."

I glance at her surprised, it is the beginning of November already, there's less than two months left of the year. Alice is always right but surely this time she must be wrong, I mean there's a first time for everything, right?

"Is there something you're not telling us pixie?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow in Alice's direction.

"It's just a feeling" Alice replied continuing to flick through the magazine. "Ooooh! What do you think of these dresses?" she squealed thrusting a magazine into mine and Rose's line of vision.

While Rose gushed over the pictures in the magazine I couldn't help but wonder what Alice meant by her comment.


	49. Chapter 49

**Author's note: Sorry guys, I know it's been ages since I've updated. I'm really struggling with this story right now, major writers block. I promise I will finish this story but updates are going to be irregular until I can work through this block I'm experiencing. Thanks to all of you who are sticking by me though! Once the story is complete I'm going to work on re-editing and re-working the story since I'm not entirely happy with previous chapters and I want to add a few new paragraphs to it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!**

The weeks passed, Thanksgiving came and went in the form of a weekend trip to Florida as a group to visit Renee and Phil. Renee _loved _having us all to visit, she had been begging us for a while to make the trip to Jacksonville so she could spend time with me and the gang. It was great to spend time with her again that didn't involve me looking like I had gone ten rounds in a boxing ring, lying battered in a hospital bed.

Renee was thrilled I was doing so well and now that I was back to normal again, she began to throw some not so subtle hints about Edward and I taking the next step in our relationship. This involved her gushing over Rose and Emmett and then in turn Alice and Jasper. She wanted to know about every single aspect of Alice's wedding planning; Alice being Alice was only too happy to fill her in. The pair of them were as bad as each other, '_Wouldn't Bella just look gorgeous in this dress?' _and_ 'Can't you just imagine Bella wearing this?' _

Just when I thought things could not possibly get any more embarrassing, Emmett demanded to see photos of me as a child. Renee was happy to comply and spent the next hour showing them every photo she could find of me. Mostly it wasn't so bad, until Alice, Rose and Renee began to go on and on about how cute mine and Edward's babies would be. My embarrassment had turned into mortification but nothing I could say would shut Renee up now, she was on a roll.

To my surprise instead of running for the hills Edward simply chuckled at Renee's comments and when I finally was able to look him in the eyes without blushing beet red, he seemed thrilled by the idea. I was beginning now to wonder if perhaps Alice was right.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

A few weeks before Christmas I was sitting on the sofa flicking through a magazine while Alice inspected her newly painted nails, the front door opened and Rose came flying into the living room. She was beaming from ear to ear and positively glowing, I glanced at Alice for enlightenment but she looked just as confused as I felt.

"What's up Rosie?" I asked curiously.

She was bouncing up and down with excitement brandishing what looked like something white and plastic. I squinted a little to try and get a better look at the object she was waving around so fast it was a blur.

It was definitely white that much I could tell, Rose slowed down with her bouncing and suddenly I realised; it was a pregnancy test.

"Rosie is that what I think it is?" I squealed.

Rose nodded, happy tears welling in her eyes and she placed one of her hands gently upon her stomach.

I'm sure the neighbours must have gone deaf at that moment as Alice let out an ear splitting shriek, following suit I began to squeal too as did Rose and soon we were jumping up and down in the middle of our living room with our arms around each other.

"I'm going to be a Mom!" Rose squealed excitedly.

"You're going to be an amazing Mom" I corrected her.

Alice nodded in agreement, "So how far along are you? When will we get to meet the new little Cullen?"

"I'm about eight weeks now, so according to the Doctor I'm due in July" she told us her eyes shining with excitement.

"Have you told your parents and Esme and Carlisle?" I asked her.

"No yet, we wanted to tell you guys first, we're planning on telling them tonight."

"Esme is going to freak!" Alice exclaimed.

Rose laughed in agreement, "I know right, although she'd never say it because she wouldn't want to pressure us she's dying to be a grandmother."

"Omigosh this is so exciting!" Alice squealed, "You're going to find out if you're having a boy or a girl right? I mean it'll just be so much easier to decorate the nursery and go shopping for baby things." Alice's eyes were shining with excitement, I bet she was planning all kinds of shopping trips already and knowing her planning little outfits to buy for the baby.

"I think we will, I mean I want to but Emmett and I need to talk about it a little more first you know?"

"Talk about what wifey?" Emmett's booming voice filled the room. He was being followed closely by Edward and Jasper.

"About whether or not we want to find out the sex of the baby" Rose replied.

Emmett snorted and grinned stupidly when Rose said sex, seriously he was so immature sometimes and now he was going to be a father? Honestly though despite his immaturity Emmett was going to be the best father ever.

"I want to" he said nodding excitedly, "If you want to though Rosie."

"I want to too" she confirmed beaming at him.

We celebrated for a while before Emmett and Rose headed home to call both sets of grandparents to be to tell them the exciting news.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

Later that night I was lying in bed with Edward by my side, my head was resting on his chest and my fingers laced with his. "Can you believe I'm gonna be an Uncle?" Edward asked in awe, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Uncle Edward" I said softly smiling into his chest.

He chuckled lightly, "I kind of like the sound of that, you know you'll be Auntie Bella" he told me.

"Unofficially I guess I will."

"Hmmmmmm" Edward murmured thoughtfully.

After that he was quiet and I had no desire to break the silence, it was comfortable just lying here together, peacefully.


	50. Chapter 50

**Author's note: It's been sooo long since I've updated, so a big heartfelt apology to you all for leaving you hanging.**

**I'm estimating that there will be another five to ten chapters left before I wrap things up here. Then as promised I will begin working on a re-write to fix some of the plot holes and errors.**

**Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does =(**

As Christmas drew nearer the first snowfall of winter came in the form of a blizzard causing slight chaos in Seattle. The roads became too dangerous for most to navigate causing schools city wide to close their doors earlier than normal for the holiday season.

Thankfully this year I had gotten my act together and completed my Christmas shopping with plenty of time to spare and with my unexpected time off work I got roped into helping Alice fine tune her wedding plans, which were almost set in stone.

It was hard to believe that in a few short months I would have two married best friends, one with a baby on the way. Alice kept up her tirade of unsubtle hints directed at Edward and I about finally taking the plunge much to our amusement. She got more brazen as days went by but was easily distracted by the sudden appearance of Rose's adorable baby bump.

Overnight Alice turned from wedding obsessed into clucky and downright baby mad much to Rose's annoyance who was not taking pregnancy so well.

Morning sickness was kicking her ass and Emmett was copping the brunt of her bad moods. Still he took it all in his stride knowing full well that her hormones were going to be out of control in a few months and that this was just the easy part.

Early on Christmas Eve morning we all packed up our cars and made the three hour drive to Forks. We all managed to wrangle time off to stay through to see in the New Year with our respective families, so I was looking forward to a long break.

By the time Edward pulled into the Charlie's driveway, Renee and Phil had already arrived. It was still a little strange to me that they were staying here over the Christmas break this year, but at the same time I was thrilled that after all this time plus their divorce, my parents were able to rekindle their friendship.

"Bella!" Renee cried running out to meet us, "How are you honey?" She tucked a few errant strands of hair that had escaped my pony tail behind my ear, examining my expression in the process.

"I'm great Mom" I assured her, she looked concerned and I guess I couldn't blame her.

Seeing my sincerity she beamed pulling me in to hug me tightly before rounding on Edward giving him the same treatment.

"Now come on inside, the rest of the family's been waiting for you" she tugged on my arm pulling me up the porch steps. Phil emerged and began to help Edward with our bags.

"Hi honey" Sue greeted me with a kiss on the cheek while Charlie who normally settled for a quick one armed squeeze, pulled me in for an Emmett style bear hug.

"It's good to see you kid, you look happy, healthy."

"I am Dad" I grinned, "Look at you old man, you've been hitting the gym haven't you?" I tapped his much more muscly looking arm.

Charlie had always been pretty fit and in shape, but he was looking, well a little buff.

He blushed beet red, reminding me exactly where I picked up that trait from, "Uh well a little" he admitted. "Got to keep up with the new recruits" he grabbed another beer and headed back towards the living room where no doubt he had been watching some kind of sporting game before I arrived.

"He was feeling a tad threatened" Sue whispered, "You should see some of the young men that have just joined the force." Winking at me she turned back to the bowl of cake batter she was mixing.

Renee whistled lowly, "There must be something in the water, seriously I'm considering purposely committing a minor traffic offense just to get closer to one of those fine…"

I coughed, choking on the sip of water I had just taken, "Well thanks for that Mom."

They both giggled, "They're not as good looking as your Edward is though honey. Right Renee?"

"Mmm hmm no arguments there, he's a very sexy man Bella. If I was single and ten years younger…."

"Geez Mom, please don't go there" I interrupted her before she took things too far, I spotted a bottle of gin, half empty sitting on the bench. Ah well then that explained _a lot, _they were obviously feeling very merry this morning causing my Mom's brain filter to be severely malfunctioning.

"And really Mom only _ten_ years younger, what are you a cougar now?" I teased causing them both to laugh hysterically.

~o~o~o~o~{}~o~o~o~o~

After an hour or so of listening to my Mom and Sue become increasingly inappropriate as the gin took its toll I decided I would be safer to brave the living room and interrupt the male bonding time that Edward, Charlie and Phil had been enjoying; blissfully unaware of the debauchery going down just a room away.

"Hey kid, good timing" Charlie dragged his eyes away from the television and stood up stretching his legs. "You can keep Phil company while Edward and I head out to grab some more firewood."

Edward smiled reassuringly and followed Charlie out of the room shrugging on his coat.

"What's that all about?" I questioned when they were out of earshot. Somehow I don't think firewood was the real reason as to why Charlie wanted to talk to Edward alone.

Phil shrugged, "Charlie's probably just checking in with Edward, making sure he's treating you right."

I narrowed my eyes, looking at Phil suspiciously. I was certain there was more to it than that.


	51. Chapter 51

**Author's note: It's Christmas time in Forks! Any guesses as to what Bella's present from Edward will be?**

**Please read and review! If I get enough I'll post an out take of Charlie and Edward's talk =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. Just in case anyone forgot. But I do own a special edition copy of Breaking Dawn on DVD which will be arriving in the mail any day now!**

I was still sitting in the living room chatting with Phil twenty minutes later when Charlie and Edward re-entered the room, carrying a basket full of firewood. I eyed them both suspiciously looking for any clues as to what had transpired between them.

Their faces were both flushed from the cold winter air and they both joked around while Edward threw more logs on the fire and Charlie re-claimed his spot in his favourite arm chair.

I decided to just leave it for the time being and try and find out what happened later when I had Edward alone.

We spent another hour or so at Charlie's before heading over to the Cullen's to unpack and help Esme with the last minute Christmas prep for tomorrow.

Esme greeted us warmly the second we stepped through the door and into the warmth.

"Bella honey" she pulled me into a tight hug, "it's wonderful to have you home."

"Thanks Esme, it's _really _good to be back."

"Great to see you too Mom, nice to see you're excited about your favourite son being home" he pouted playfully for a moment before his face broke into a crooked smile.

Esme kissed Edward on the cheek beckoning us into the living room. "Your father had to make a quick visit to the hospital but he'll be home any minute" she glanced at her wrist watch.

"Where are the others? And do I smell cookies?" Edward asked setting our bags down next to the stairs.

"Emmett and Rose are still at the Hales and Alice and Jasper went to the store to pick up a few last minute things" Esme continue, "And yes I was baking cookies where you arrived" she smiled at her son as he gave her a quick squeeze.

It was obvious how happy Esme was to have her children home and what a close bond they had as a family.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I offered.

Esme beamed at me, "How do you feel about cutting some cookie dough?"

I followed Esme into the kitchen after Edward decided to head upstairs and unpack, although I suspected really he was just giving us some girl time.

"It's wonderful to see you looking so happy again dear" Esme remarked passing me a mixing bowl, unshed tears welled in her eyes. I knew she was remembering how I looked, pale and broken lying in the hospital bed.

"I'm feeling much better now" I reassured her, "Edward makes me so happy."

"And you him, I'm not sure if I've told you before but he's changed so since you two started dating. He was so miserable with Tanya and he became so reserved when they broke up, it was hard for him to be himself after being betrayed by her."

I nodded completely understanding where she was coming from; I had felt much the same when I first left Phoenix.

"But then you came along" she beamed at me, "I remember when he had first met you, you'd just moved to Seattle. He called me one weekend and immediately I knew he had met someone, of course I had to prompt him a little to open up and tell me all about you. But once I had he would talk of nothing else."

I smiled remembering similar conversations with my own mother.

"He loves you so much Bella."

"I love him too" I felt tears welling in my eyes, "So much."

"I know sweetie" Esme rubbed my back, "You two are made for each other."

She gave me a quick squeeze before putting the last batch of cookies in the oven. "We're all finished here, go on up and see him" Esme nodded her head giving me a knowing look.

I headed up the staircase to the third floor knocking lightly on the open door of Edward's room to indicate my presence.

Edward was lying on his enormous four poster bed his hands folded behind his head. He turned at the noise, smiling at me as he lifted himself off the bed.

"You don't need to knock love, this is as much your room as it is mine now" He closed the door behind me pulling me into his embrace.

Gently he tugged my hand leading me to the bed; he laid down pulling me into him until my head was resting on his chest.

"It feels good to be home" he murmured, "I forgot just how much I missed this place."

I hummed my agreement.

"I'm so happy you're here with me" he kissed the top of my head.

"Me too" I whispered, "Would you ever want to move back here?"

"Back into my parent's house, not particularly" he chuckled.

"You know what I meant" I slapped his chest lightly giggling, "Back to Port Angeles or even Forks."

"Hmmm" Edward thought for a moment, "I think I would, I loved growing up here and it's a good place to settle down."

We were silent for a moment, "Would you?"

I nodded against his chest.

"One day _soon_" he promised.


	52. Chapter 52

**Author's note: For some reason your reviews aren't making it through to my inbox, so I'm super sorry if I don't reply straight away, hopefully I'll be able to send out replies soon!**

**Ready for some family time?**

**Please read and review =)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. **

I woke an hour or so later still cuddled up to Edward, my head resting on his chest and my hand intertwined with his. His breathing was steady and deep and for a moment I thought he was still asleep until he moved slightly kissing my hair.

"Did you sleep well?" he murmured.

"Very, I didn't even realise I was so tired" I yawned sitting up to stretch.

Edward chuckled, "It's been a long day."

I nodded my agreement, "Hey" I said suddenly remembering. "What were you and Charlie talking about back at the house?"

"Hmmm?" Edward looked confused.

"When you went outside, he wasn't interrogating you was he?"

"Oh" Edward rubbed the stubble on his jaw, "No nothing like that love."

"Are you sure, because I know sometimes he can be a bit much and he's really over protective…"

He silenced me with a kiss, "He needed an extra set of hands."

"Okay" I narrowed my eyes at him; there was something he wasn't telling me.

Edward laughed grabbing my hand and helping me off the bed, "Sounds like the whole families arrived now, we should probably head down before Alice comes up here and drags us away."

I could hear Emmett's loud, booming voice as we descended the stairs coming from the living room.

He waggled his eyebrows at us when we entered the room, "Nice of you to join us lovebirds" he winked suggestively.

"We were sleeping" Edward lightly punched his brother in the arm.

"Sure you were" Emmett rolled his eyes.

"Just in time for dinner" Carlisle appeared with a wine bottle in each hand, "Welcome home son" he placed the bottles down giving Edward a pat on the back.

"Thanks Dad."

"Bella" he pulled me into his arms, "You get prettier every time I see you, it's nice to see you again."

I blushed as he released me from his grasp, "You too Carlisle."

"C'mon kids" he instructed delivering the wine bottles to Esme who was waiting in the dining room. She had outdone herself once again; the dining room and table were impeccably decorated like the rest of the house.

There was a smaller tree than the one in the living room nestled in the corner, dressed in red and gold, candles on every surface and through the floor to ceiling windows I could see the porch and gazebo which were covered by a light dusting of snow, lit by hundreds of fairy lights. It looked magical.

After dinner we helped clean up the kitchen and finished up any preparations for the following day before snuggling up in the living room around the blazing fire, glasses of eggnog in hand.

"I can't believe how much has changed in this past year" Esme commented, smiling as she looked around the room at each of her children in turn, "And a year from now we'll have another little Cullen sitting here with us."

Rosalie and Emmett exchanged a loving look as he gently rubbed her stomach.

Edward pulled me closer to him nuzzling my neck.

"You never know Esme, there might be more than one little Cullen running around this house next Christmas" he winked.

"Are you pregnant Ma?" Emmett looked horrified.

"No Emmett!" she exclaimed while Carlisle just chuckled. "Your father meant maybe Alice or Bella…. I've done my bit, I have three beautiful children but I certainly do not want any more!"

"Don't get your hopes up Mom" Alice warned, "I was hoping to enjoy being married a while before we decide to have children." Jasper nodded supportively beside her.

It wasn't a secret that both Alice and Jasper weren't ready to have kids, they wanted to travel and see the world first. I could relate to that.

"One baby Cullen is enough to begin with" Carlisle interjected saving me from certain embarrassment, "There's plenty of time yet to fill this house with grandbabies."

I smiled at him gratefully and he winked back.

"Merry Christmas love" Edward murmured when my eyes fluttered open the next morning.

"Merry Christmas" I mumbled rubbing the sleep from my eyes; he chuckled embracing me tightly before leaping out of bed.

"It snowed again last night?" I questioned as he opened the curtains and bright light filtered in.

"Sure did" he smiled.

I joined him by the window looking out over the yard and to the forest beyond. It looked beautiful, the trees, grass and gardens were covered by a thick, pure white blanket of snow.

After showering we headed downstairs where Esme and Carlisle were busy preparing the traditional huge Cullen Christmas breakfast, it was something they did every year.

With breakfast over we lounged around for the rest of the morning before heading back upstairs to get ready for the rest of the day.

Christmas dinner was always an elegant affair in the Cullen household, another family tradition; so I dressed in deep, midnight blue cocktail dress that fit me like a glove and a pair of dark silvery grey heels.

I applied some light makeup and curled my hair letting it fall in soft waves down my back.

"You look beautiful Bella" Edward said softly when I emerged from the bathroom. He was dressed in black slacks and a classic white shirt.

"Thanks" I blushed taking in his appearance, "You look sexy…."

He flashed me my favourite crooked smile, crossing the room and closing the space between us he cradled my face in his hands and kissed me deeply.

I smiled at him lazily when he pulled away, feeling dazed.

He led me downstairs and found that my family had just arrived. We greeted them warmly and settled in the living room once again.

We all exchanged gifts, drinking wine and laughing over Emmett's enthusiasm towards every gift he got. I looked up and noticed Edward standing by the window, smiling as he watched our families enjoying each other's company.

"Take a walk with me" he mouthed cocking his head.

I nodded, quietly crossing the room and shrugging on my coat hanging on a hook by the back door.

**A/n: Any guesses as to why Edward wants to talk to Bella….alone? **


	53. Chapter 53

**Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

**I am sad to say that This Time is Ours only has between three and five chapters left to go …. **

**Originally I decided that I wasn't going to write a sequel and just have an epilogue that glimpsed into the future of our favourite couples. But after much consideration I am pleased to say that there will be a sequel!**

**Now on to chapter 53, some of you think Edward is going to propose… well read on and find out!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, *sigh***

Edward grasped my hand tightly as we walked in silence along the small path towards the gazebo. Through the clouds and snow flurries I could see it was twilight, my favourite time if day.

The sky had turned an inky blue as day gave way to night, a few stars twinkly brightly overhead. The snow continued to drift down softly as the fairy lights twinkled making everything appear to be sparkling.

Edward guided me up the ice covered steps and under the shelter of the white, wooden gazebo, its dark tiled roof covered in snow and icicles hanging from the railings.

"My beautiful Bella" he whispered brushing the snowflakes from my hair. I looked at him quizzically, wondering why he wanted to talk outside alone but at the same time enjoying this private moment.

He smiled at me reaching for both of my hands, covering them with his much warmer ones. Edward took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"Bella, from the moment I first laid eyes on you I knew you were the woman for me, the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It sounds silly and cliché I know but I really did fall in love with you at first sight."

He rubbed his thumbs in comforting circles on the backs of my hands, "We've been through so much together over these past couple of years and we've had our moments. The happiest moments in my entire life have happened when I've been with you."

Edward's eyes were full of emotion "And also some of the most terrifying. There were moments where I thought I had lost you, through my own stupidity and…." His voice broke as he paused brushing the tears from my cheeks that I hadn't realised were falling.

"I'll never let you down again" he whispered as he sank to his knees on front of me.

"Isabella Marie Swan" his voice rang clear. I gasped, my hands covering my mouth.

He produced a small black velvet box from his coat pocket opening it and offering it to me, "Will you do the extraordinary honour of becoming my wife?"

I nodded, tears streaming down my face, "Yes!"

Edward's face broke into the most amazing smile as he slipped the sparkling, diamond ring onto my finger before lifting me off my feet into his embrace. He spun me around clinging to me tightly. "You said yes" Edward whispered in amazement.

"Yes" I whispered burying my face into his neck. "It was always going to be a yes."

He pulled away slightly capturing my lips in a searing kiss. "You've made me the happiest man alive."

I beamed at him before glancing down at my ring, it was beautiful.

"It was my Grandma Elizabeth's ring" he told me touching it gently with his index finger. "The ring Grandpa Masen proposed to her with many years ago, he bought her many pieces over the years they were together but this was always my favourite as was the story that went with it."

"They were young when Grandpa proposed, only seventeen years old, after courting for just six months. He always said he knew from the moment he saw her that they were each other's forever so immediately he began saving for a ring. He worked long hours and went without a lot to get enough money together to buy this ring. They lived in London at the time, the city they were born in."

"Finally he saved enough and headed straight to the jewellers; as soon as he saw this ring he knew it was _the one_. He proposed and without hesitation her answer was yes. They married two months later and immediately they were expecting my Uncle Maxwell. They moved from London to Port Angeles when my father was five years old and built their life here together."

He smiled at me continuing to gently play with the ring sparkling in the dim light. "They loved each other until the very end, Grandpa Masen died only a few years ago and my Grandma was distraught. Only a few months after his death she followed, succumbing to her broken heart."

Tears welled in my eyes and spilled down over my cheeks, it was such a sad but romantic story.

"Just before she passed she sat us all down one by one and gave us each a few of her trinkets explaining why she had chosen each to give to that particular person. Grandma was adamant that this ring be given to me, saying that one day when I found the other half of my soul that I propose to her with this ring. She had dreamed about us many years before we had even met" he looked up at me wiping the tears from me cheeks.

"When she told me about this and her dream I had to admit I thought she was crazy, but then I met you and I understood. This ring was meant for you Bella, only you."

"It's beautiful" I whispered, referring to both the ring and the story of Masen and Elizabeth's undying love.

"As is the woman wearing it" Edward said softly kissing the ring before making his way up my arm to capture my lips.

I sighed letting myself melt in his embrace, much too soon he pulled away, gently placing one last kiss on my lips.

"OH!" I exclaimed as I came to a sudden realisation. "_This _was what you were talking to Charlie about yesterday, wasn't it?"

Edward nodded, "I wanted to do this right, I respect Charlie and I knew that he would appreciate it."

"And…?" I probed.

"He was thrilled actually, by the fact that I had thought to ask his permission and that I was going to ask you to be my wife."

"I bet" I smirked, "That's definitely won you a few brownie points. You told Carlisle too didn't you?"

"I did" Edward confirmed, well that explained _a lot_, the baby comments, the twinkle in his eye when he watched us together. "I had to so I could get the ring, it was being held in a safety deposit box."

"And you wanted too" I touched his cheek gently which was flushed pink from the cold.

Edward nodded, "He's really excited Bella and he cannot wait to have you as a part of our family officially."

"I can't wait either" I whispered, "Let's go make our announcement."

**A/N: Soooooo they're getting' married! What did you think of the proposal?**


	54. Chapter 54

**Author's note: There will be a few time jumps from here on out and at this stage there will be just two more chapters after this one. I won't be writing an epilogue as I am planning on writing a sequel in the near future. **

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter and to all of you who have added This Time is Ours to your favourites lists!**

**Press the little button below and leave me your thoughts on this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, but I do own a copy of the movie, which I have watched twice this week =)**

I glanced down at my ring, sparkling brilliantly in the late afternoon sunlight that was streaming through the windows of Starlight Bridal. I smiled to myself remembering how perfect Edward's proposal was, how excited and thrilled our families were when we finally announced we were getting married.

We had set the date for August thirteenth, a late summer wedding just one month before my birthday. I watched Alice as the seamstress fussed with her dress nipping and tucking. It was her final dress fitting before her own big day which was now a little over a week away. She looked blissfully happy as her mother snapped photos of her, wanting to document every moment.

Rosalie was sniffling away, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She had become even more hormonal lately as she reached the half-way point of her pregnancy. Overnight her belly had popped, giving her the cutest little baby bump which she was showing off with pride.

After trying on our bridesmaid dresses one last time we bid Alice and Jennifer good night and I drove Rose home, where Emmett and Edward were waiting for us.

"I missed you love" Edward murmured as he buried his face in my hair holding me close.

"_I missed you_" I breathed pulling back so I could kiss him.

"Get a room!" Emmett made gagging noises as he popped the cap off a beer.

"Shush" Rose smacked him on the arm. He grinned at her, sweeping her into his arms and planting a kiss firmly on her lips.

"How's my little girl doing today" Emmett laid his hands on Rose's belly kissing it gently.

They had decided they were both far too impatient to wait until the birth to find out the sex of their bundle of joy. Both were overjoyed to find out just last week that baby Cullen was a little girl.

"She's good" Rose beamed as she ruffled Emmett's hair.

He placed one last kiss on her belly before straightening up, "So what did you two get up to today then?" she questioned curling up on the sofa.

"Suit fittings with Jasper, I swear he's turning into more of a Bridezilla than Alice."

Rose arched one perfect eyebrow, "It's true!" Emmett insisted.

"He's not lying" Edward confirmed, "_Edward don't sit down, you'll crinkle it! Emmett if you spill anything on that shirt Alice will have my balls….Do these pants make my ass look fat" _his tone was high pitched and shrill reminding me of Alice when she got drunk.

"He _did not_ ask you if his ass looks fat!" Rose giggled.

"No he didn't" Edward chuckled, "That was all Emmett actually."

The look Rose gave Em was priceless, "Just making sure those pants showcase the goods baby. Plus it made Jasper stop his bossy whining."

….

Alice and Jasper's wedding went off without a hitch, the ceremony had us all tearing up as they declared their undying love for one another. The day was nothing short of magical and we all celebrated well into the night, before they jetted off to Italy for a week long honeymoon. They returned relaxed, tanned and full of amazing stories of days spent shopping, sight-seeing and wine tasting, already planning a return trip sometime in the next year.

Now that her own wedding was behind her, Alice began helping me fine tune my own wedding plans. It was much simpler than I had imagined it would be, Edward and I had very similar and clear ideas on what we wanted; choosing to shun flashy hotels and country clubs for an intimate ceremony at his parents' home in Forks.

"Ugh I look like a beached whale" Rose grumbled as we crossed the parking lot heading into the air conditioned sanctuary of the mall. "My feet are so fat and swollen I had to force them into my shoes this morning."

"You don't look like a whale" I reassured her. Rosalie was still a few weeks away from her due date, July 19th and was becoming more bitchy and agitated by the day. I sympathised, being pregnant in summer was no picnic, especially with the hotter than normal temperatures. She was overheated and uncomfortable, cranky and tired.

She ignored me, flicking through the rack of baby clothes, "I feel like one, waddling along with fat feet and swollen ankles. I…._SHIT_" she hissed.

I whipped around to see a shocked looking Rosalie, "_My water just broke._"

Sure enough there was a pool of water at Rosalie's feet, I gasped, "C'mon Rosie we've gotta get you out of here" I threw my arm around her helping her out of the store. I called Emmett who was with Edward as we made our way out to the car.

"Hey B, what's up?"

"Em, it's time."

"Time for w… _Holy shit, _is Rosie okay?"

"She doing great" I told him as I helped Rose into the car.

Rose squeezed my hand as I sped towards the hospital, trying to breathe her way through her contractions. "_Holy mother of… fuck!_" she groaned, gripping my hand to damn tight there would be definite bruising later.

"You're doing amazing Rosie, just keep taking deep breaths honey we're almost there."

"I am _never_ letting him touch me again" she growled in between breaths.

Four long hours later Olivia Lillian Cullen was welcomed into the world, born three weeks early at 7 pounds 5 ounces, with her big blue eyes and fine wisps of blonde hair she was Rose's mini me and absolutely _perfect._

"Congratulations bro" Edward clapped a beaming Emmett on his shoulder.

"Want to meet your niece?" Rose asked us, she looked exhausted but blissfully happy.

Emmett gently handed Edward the tiny pink swaddled bundle, "She's beautiful" he gently touched her cheek.

Watching Edward with Olivia was indescribable, the way he sang softly to her, rocking her in his arms; it made me fall in love with him even more.


End file.
